[rpd] Leases and Flexibility

[Fernando Frediani]

Please learn how to participate in a email list. Stop changing all 
message subjects. You even replied to digest emails.
Please adequate yourself to the standards in order to properly participate.

On 05/07/2021 20:14, Paul Hjul wrote:
>
>     Hi Noah,
>     What you describe sounds nice if you are one of the established
>     ISPs who
>     are running a top to bottom network. However you can not say the same
>     for smaller enterprises, too small to be an LIR, and unable to run
>     full
>     operations profitably, giving inability to afford the RIR/AFRINIC
>     fees. I
>     feel total reliance on network providers/carriers also limits
>     flexibility,
>     which goes more along the line of thinking from the ITU, than the
>     spirit of
>     the Internet, as set by the early pioneers of the Internet.
>     No textbook analogy. IP leasing can allow the enterprise/organizations
>     certain flexibility in administration. Like having a single contiguous
>     range to numbers on all their interfaces and infrastructure either
>     locally
>     and across the cloud, for better administration and scaling of their
>     network they need. This way all their IPs are unique and
>     contiguous, and
>     they can number their offices networks, servers, VPN etc. for easy
>     management.
>     So Yes, fully (physical)provider independent. Without the physical
>     connection to provider being involved, that provider will still be
>     there of
>     course, but the end user is not forced to number their LAN with that
>     provider's IP addresses.
>     On another note, AFRINIC itself would give out such IP addresses as
>     assignments with the same justifications, These provider-independent
>     address space (PI) has some limitations in the current CPM. The PIs
>     assignments are also called "leasing", and well.
>     AFRINIC as a non profit organisation should not place itself in direct
>     competition with its members.
>     Resource owners are restricted from leasing, while the registry
>     can lease
>     out space as described in the policy, placing AFRINIC in a very
>     awkward
>     situation.
>
>     *Best Regards,*
>
>
>     *Anthony*
>
> Wholeheartedly agree
>
> Two points on this though:
> [1] The scenario of "top to bottom" providers who think of themselves 
> in a telco-esque mindset is really deleterious to a competitive market 
> and is not beneficial to consumers. Members of RIRs serve a function 
> as an LIR not as an "operator who leases number resources from the 
> RIR", it should be perfectly possible for an enterprise to contract 
> with multiple companies one of which is an LIR to get the various 
> resources that enterprise needs for their ICT services.
> [2] Even in the telco space this sort of ITU-esque thinking is under 
> revision - the mantra amongst telco CEOs is "becoming a techco".
>
> The thinking will mean that transitioning to IPv6 on the continent 
> will continue to be behind global trends.
>
> There certainly is space for a discussion as to whether there should 
> be policies as to the nature of relationship between LIR and customer 
> but the implicit big lie advanced by some on this group is that 
> operators aren't indirectly charging their customers for the 
> utilization of the "integers". My argument is that such policesare 
> unlikely to be properly framed or scoped and will generally backfire 
> but itsa legitimate discussion if people want to have it. There is 
> also certainly discussion to be had as to requiring LIRs to undertake 
> IPv6 operations which is something I am strongly in favour of.
> However that isn't the engagement that is happening.
>
> It is also probably worth reiterating that a situation in which there 
> is major allocation fragmentation to member providers who are small 
> operators really only serves to produce large membership fee 
> collections and would inevitably line the pockets of several insiders.
>
> I had actually forgotthat Afrinic leases out address space on 
> non-commercial terms under section 9 of the CPM and yes its further 
> illustration of things.
>
> Paul
>
>
>
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