[AFRINIC-Announce] IANA Announces Exhaustion of 16-bit ASN Pool

[AFRINIC Communication]

Dear Colleagues,

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has announced that its 16-bit Autonomous System Number (ASN) pool has now been exhausted. Future allocations to the five Regional Internet Registries will be made from the IANA's 32-bit pool.

AFRINIC assigns all AS Numbers from its 32-bit ASN pool. It has a small supply of 16-bit ASNs available and, due to the incompatibility of some equipment with the higher bit order 32-bit ASNs, it may allow, on a case-by-case basis, members to swap higher bit ASNs with lower bit order 32-bit ASNs.

However, AFRINIC strongly encourages members to check for 32-bit ASN functionality before purchasing new equipment, and to upgrade current non-compliant equipment in order to support the 32-bit ASN standard so that they can connect to customers as well as connect with their upstream providers.

AFRINIC Communication