[AfrICANN-discuss] Press Release, Less Than 10% IPv4 of Addresses Remain Unallocated

[Lillian Sharpley]

Dear Colleagues, the RIRs would like to raise the level of awareness 
regarding the number of remaining IPv4 addresses in the press release 
below. If you require additional information about the IPv4 address pool 
in the African region, please contact AfriNIC at contact at afrinic.net.

Sincerely,

Lillian Sharpley
Communications Area Manager
AfriNIC
www.afrinic.net
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http://www.nro.net/media/less-than-10-percent-ipv4-addresses-remain-unallocated.html

For Immediate Release
19 January 2010

*Deploying IPv6 - the next generation of the Internet Protocol - is 
vital to the continued development of the Internet*

*AMSTERDAM* -- The Number Resource Organization (NRO), the official 
representative of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that 
oversee the allocation of all Internet number resources, announced today 
that less than 10 percent of available IPv4 addresses remain 
unallocated. This small pool of existing IP addresses marks a critical 
moment in IPv4 address exhaustion, ultimately impacting the future 
network operations of all businesses and organizations around the globe.

"This is a key milestone in the growth and development of the global 
Internet," noted Axel Pawlik, Chairman of the NRO. "With less than 10 
percent of the entire IPv4 address range still available for allocation 
to RIRs, it is vital that the Internet community take considered and 
determined action to ensure the global adoption of IPv6. The limited 
IPv4 addresses will not allow us enough resources to achieve the 
ambitions we all hold for global Internet access. The deployment of IPv6 
is a key infrastructure development that will enable the network to 
support the billions of people and devices that will connect in the 
coming years," added Pawlik.

Internet Protocol is a set of technical rules that defines how devices 
communicate over a network. There are currently two versions of IP, IPv4 
and IPv6. IPv6 includes a modern numbering system that provides a much 
larger address pool than IPv4. With so few IPv4 addresses remaining, the 
NRO is urging all Internet stakeholders to take immediate action by 
planning for the necessary investments required to deploy IPv6.

The NRO, alongside each individual RIR, has actively promoted IPv6 
deployment for several years through grassroots outreach, speaking 
engagements, conferences and media outreach. To date, their combined 
efforts have yielded positive results in the call to action for the 
adoption of IPv6.

Given the less than 10 percent milestone, the NRO is continuing its call 
for Internet stakeholders, including governments, vendors, enterprises, 
telecoms operators, and end users, to fulfill their roles in IPv6 
adoption, specifically encouraging the following actions:

    * The business sector should provide IPv6-capable services and
      platforms, including web hosting and equipment, ensuring
      accessibility for IPv6 users.
    * Software and hardware vendors should implement IPv6 support in
      their products to guarantee they are available at production
      standard when needed.
    * Governments should lead the way by making their own content and
      services available over IPv6 and encouraging IPv6 deployment
      efforts in their countries. IPv6 requirements in government
      procurement policies are critical at this time.
    * Civil society, including organizations and end users, should
      request that all services they receive from their ISPs and vendors
      are IPv6-ready, to build demand and ensure competitive
      availability of IPv6 services in coming years.

The NRO's campaign to promote the next generation of Internet Protocol 
continues to positively impact the Internet community. IPv6 allocations 
increased by nearly 30% in 2009, as community members continued to 
recognize the benefits of IPv6.

"Many decision makers don't realize how many devices require IP 
addresses - mobile phones, laptops, servers, routers, the list goes on," 
said Raul Echeberria, Secretary of the NRO. "The number of available 
IPv4 addresses is shrinking rapidly, and if the global Internet 
community fails to recognize this, it will face grave consequences in 
the very near future. As such, the NRO is working to educate everyone, 
from network operators to top executives and government representatives, 
about the importance of IPv6 adoption," added Echeberria.

IP addresses are allocated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority 
(IANA), a contract operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned 
Names and Numbers (ICANN). IANA distributes IP addresses to RIRs, who in 
turn issue them to users in their respective regions. "This is the time 
for the Internet community to act," said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's 
President and Chief Executive Officer. "For the global Internet to grow 
and prosper without limitation, we need to encourage the rapid 
widespread adoption of the IPv6 protocol."

Notes to Editors

*About the Number Resource Organization (NRO): *

The Number Resource Organization (NRO) is the coordinating mechanism for 
the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). The RIRs - AfriNIC, APNIC, 
ARIN, LACNIC, and the RIPE NCC - ensure the fair and equitable 
distribution of Internet number resources (IPv6 and IPv4 addresses and 
Autonomous System (AS) numbers) in their respective regions. The NRO 
exists to protect the unallocated Internet number resource pool, foster 
open and consensus-based policy development, and provide a single point 
of contact for communication with the RIRs. Learn more about the NRO at 
www.nro.net/media.

*About the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) *

The five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that make up the NRO are 
independent, not-for-profit membership organizations that support the 
infrastructure of the Internet through technical coordination. The 
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) allocates blocks of IP 
addresses and ASNs, known collectively as Internet number resources, to 
the RIRs, who then distribute them to users within their own specific 
service regions. Organizations that receive resources directly from RIRs 
include Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunications 
organizations, large corporations, governments, academic institutions, 
and industry stakeholders, including end users.

The RIR model of open, transparent participation has proven successful 
at responding to the rapidly changing Internet environment. Each RIR 
holds one or two open meetings per year, as well as facilitating online 
discussion by the community, to allow the open exchange of ideas from 
the technical community, the business sector, civil society, and 
government regulators.

The five RIRs are:

    * AfriNIC, http://www.afrinic.net - Africa
    * APNIC, http://www.apnic.net - Asia Pacific
    * ARIN, http://www.arin.net - Canada, many Caribbean and North
      Atlantic islands, and the United States
    * LACNIC, http://www.lacnic.net - Latin America and the Caribbean
    * RIPE NCC, http://www.ripe.net - Europe, Middle East, and Parts of
      Central Asia

Media Contacts

Marissa Ramey | LEWIS Public Relations
Ph. +1.202.349.3788 | arin at lewispr.com <mailto:arin at lewispr.com>

Kersti Klami/Gabriela Warren | Racepoint Group UK
Ph. +44 (0) 208 752 3200 | ripencc at racepointgroup.com 
<mailto:ripencc at racepointgroup.com>

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