[rpd] Some thoughts, and some actions required

[Mukom Akong T.]

On 2 February 2016 at 21:26, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> wrote:

> On Feb 2, 2016, at 05:20 , Mukom Akong T. <mukom.tamon at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> **Wearing NO Hats**
>
>
> Markets are quite effective at moving resources from where they are not
> needed to where they are more highly needed/demanded. This community has
> always been against a transfer policy because of the perception (correct or
> incorrect) that a transfer policy opens the way for legal plundering of
> AFRINIC resources. What policy requirements should be considered to allay
> that fear ?
>
>
> This is only partly true…
>
> Markets are very good at optimizing resource distribution to maximize
> revenue for the resource holders. This is not always the direct
> profitability of the resources themselves, however. In a constrained market
> (a limited quantity of a non-substitutable commodity, a limited number of
> consumers/suppliers, etc.) where the commodity in question is a vital
> resource used in support of unrelated commerce (as is the case with IP
> addresses), there may be value not only in possessing adequate resources to
> support one’s business, but also potential value in depriving one’s
> competitors of sufficient resources.
>
> Fortunately, IPv4 addresses are not completely non-substitutable… They are
> currently partially substitutable with IPv6 addresses and the extent of
> this substitutability is growing fairly quickly.
>



I think we are on the same side :-)

* I used resources in my statement above in the general sense (the thing to
be sold and the money) rather than the sense of Internet number resources.

* Africa's under-utilisation of a resource to which it only has a tiny
amount indicates to me that resource (v4 address) are more value in other
parts of the world than here. Thus a market might facilitate the movement
of those resources out of the continent (while earning some $$ for the
holders)



>
> I am now of a mixed mind on the plundering of the AfriNIC free pool.
>
> On the one hand, it will deprive the continent of IPv4 addresses. On the
> other hand, this privation may serve to push Africa from the very back of
> the pack on IPv6 adoption to an aggressive deployment and a leadership
> position. This would be very disruptive in the short run, but may actually
> serve to create a better circumstance in the long run.
>


I've heard this sentiment too often in different countries ... perhaps if
we no longer suffered from the delusion of "AFRINIC still has quite a large
number of IPv4 addresses", then people might wake up to start doing the
right and sustainable thing.



>
> At the end of the day, I don’t really have a dog in this fight. I just
> want to make sure that as the community considers these policy matters,
> they are making an informed decision based on the facts as they exist
> rather than conjecture or erroneous information.
>


Thank you as always for your insights which enable the community make
sensible policy. In a nutshell, what you and I both describe is at the
foundation of the fear that the community has always had about a transfer
policy.




-- 

Mukom Akong T.

LinkedIn:Mukom <https://www.linkedin.com/in/mukom>  |  twitter:
@perfexcellent


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