[AfriNIC-rpd] IPv6 Allocations to Non-Profit Networks

[Bill Woodcock]

      On Tue, 13 Jan 2009, David Conrad wrote:
    > > > IPv6 Allocations to Non-Profit Networks
    > > > ----------
    > > > Many community and non-profit networks exist on the African continent
    > > > and around the world...  Many of these organizations provide the
    > > > services free of charge and do not have any kind of revenue stream.
    > > 
    > > I strongly support this policy.
    > 
    > So, you'd be happy for (say) the Gates Foundation to not pay AfriNIC while
    > a small two person commercial ISP serving some rural area in the bush
    > would be subject to full freight?

If the Gates Foundation was operating a service-provider network, and 
providing Internet connectivity services to the public, free of charge or 
restriction, and made the determination that they couldn't afford 
AfriNIC's fees, then yes, that would be one edge case.  

That's the difference, in law, in most places, between a for-profit and a 
not-for-profit.  As a not-for-profit, AfriNIC would be allowed to provide 
goods or services on a noncommercial basis to other not-for-profit 
entities, whereas they would not be allowed to provide those services to a 
for-profit, since that would be allowing the public pot to be drawn upon 
for the private good, rather than the public good.

Now, if you're saying that the rule of law is not strong enough in Africa 
to support the distinction between for-profit and not-for-profit 
organizations, that seems perhaps unnecessarily pessimistic to me, but 
everyone's entitled to their view.  I'd rather see the policy enacted, 
assume the best, give the AfriNIC staff the leeway to determine whether 
it's being abused, and revoke it if there's a problem.

                                -Bill