LAST CALL - Recommended Draft Policy ARIN-2017-10: Repeal of Immediate Need for IPv4 Address Space (NRPM Section 4.2.1.6)

[ARIN]

The ARIN Advisory Council (AC) met on 18 April 2018 and decided to send 
the following Recommended Draft Policy to Last Call:

ARIN-2017-10: Repeal of Immediate Need for IPv4 Address Space (NRPM 
Section 4.2.1.6)

Feedback is encouraged during the Last Call period. All comments should 
be provided to the Public Policy Mailing List. Last Call will expire on 
7 May 2018.

The Recommended Draft Policy text is below and available at:
https://www.arin.net/policy/proposals/

The ARIN Policy Development Process is available at:
https://www.arin.net/policy/pdp.html

Regards,

Sean Hopkins
Policy Analyst
American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)



Recommended Draft Policy ARIN-2017-10: Repeal of Immediate Need for IPv4 
Address Space (NRPM Section 4.2.1.6)

AC Assessment of Conformance with the Principles of Internet Number 
Resource Policy:

This recommended draft proposal is technically sound and is fair and 
impartial number policy. The draft policy removes the immediate need 
policy which is now inoperative as the IPv4 free pool is empty and ARIN 
does not have the ability to provide space within the 30 day requirement 
for which this policy was originally intended.

Problem Statement:

Section 4.2.1.6 of the ARIN Numbering Resource Policy Manual (NRPM) 
provides that an ISP having an immediate need for IPv4 address space 
that will be utilized within thirty days of a request may obtain a block 
of IPv4 address space of the size specified in section 4.2.1.6 from ARIN 
on an exceptional basis. However, as noted in the ARIN 40 Policy 
Experience Report, since IPv4 exhaustion, obtaining IPv4 addresses in 
this manner is no longer possible as a practical matter. Instead an ISP 
must join the waiting list and wait until it reaches the front of the 
queue to obtain any IPv4 address space, however long that may take. In 
effect, section 4.2.1.6 is non-operative. Accordingly, its continued 
presence in the NRPM is misleading and confusing.

Policy Statement:

Section 4.2.1.6 of the NRPM is hereby repealed and section number 
4.2.1.6 is hereby retired.

Section 4.3.4 - Remove phrase "Immediate need [4.2.1.6] or"

Section 4.5, Item 7 - Remove phrase "unless the organization can 
demonstrate additional need using the immediate need criteria (4.2.1.6)"

Comments:

Timetable for Implementation: Immediate

Anything Else: Given the constraints created by the exhaustion of IPv4 
addresses, this proposal does not require any changes in the current 
ARIN practices for the allocation of IPv4 address space.