[rpd] Questions about IP Allocation rate

Tue Oct 14 10:52:08 UTC 2025

Hi Jordi,

On 14 Oct 2025, at 12:35, jordi.palet--- via RPD <rpd at afrinic.net> wrote:

I don’t understand the ASN problem. There is no scarcity of those.

Well, during the period Oct ’24 till Jun ’25 you could NOT get a ASN from AfriNIC !

I’m not saying that ASNs are a scarcity, just, it is a REQUIREMENT for network operations on the BBI (Big Bad Internet)

We have done many IPv6 deployments, for Data Centers (then we use SIIT-DC), and for mobile and wired operators. In those cases the best solution is 464XLAT, which is the only transition mechanism valid in mobile networks, so if you have both mobile and wireless is non-sense to use different transition mechanisms.

In both cases you need “some” IPv4 addresses, and because you can’t route less than /24, most of the time, you will use a /24. If you have multiple PoPs for your BGP upstreams, then you may need multiple /24s.

I do agree on these points. Just that there are “enough” IPv4 space in the open market to get going,

Regards,
Jordi

@jordipalet

El 14 oct 2025, a las 12:19, Hendrik Visage <hvisage at hevis.co.za> escribió:

On 14 Oct 2025, at 11:55, ben.roberts--- via RPD <rpd at afrinic.net> wrote:

Owen,
Will that not exclude many of their their citizens from accessing digital services?

1) Get an ASN
2) deply IPv6 network
3) CGNAT / SIIT-DC  / MAP-T - refer to Sky Networks’s presentations on IPv4aaS deployments

Single /24 but you NEED that ASN first !

From: Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com<mailto:owen at delong.com>>
Sent: 14 October 2025 11:44
To: Noah <noah at neo.co.tz<mailto:noah at neo.co.tz>>
Cc: Ben Roberts AfriNIC <ben.roberts at afrinic.net<mailto:ben.roberts at afrinic.net>>; Andrew Alston <aa at alstonnetworks.net<mailto:aa at alstonnetworks.net>>; RPD <rpd at afrinic.net<mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>>
Subject: Re: [rpd] Questions about IP Allocation rate

Or better yet, not reserving IPv4 could spur those governments to deploy their govnets on IPv6 from the beginning with a clean greenfield design leapfrogging past the legacy baggage inherent in any IPv4 based solution.

Owen

On Oct 13, 2025, at 12:26, Noah <noah at neo.co.tz<mailto:noah at neo.co.tz>> wrote:

Ben

There is critical structural challenge in the continents digital landscape and you more than anyone knows this very well that we also suffer from uneven maturity of Digital Public Infrastructure and Government Networks (GovNet), which directly impacts the equitable deployment of essential digital services across majority of countries across our continent.

Look we are talking about numbering infrastructure that would support services like e-government, digital IDs, and public/private data exchanges, while aligning with AFRINIC's exhaustion-phase policies.

We can not shy away from these reality or pretend that there is lack of foresight from actors at Afrinic and the community at large.

Its a known fact that many of our African governments lack operational GovNets and strategic reservations of IPv4 address space from AFRINIC could serve as a targeted incentive to bridge these gaps.

Cheers,
./noah

On Mon, 13 Oct 2025, 8:34 pm Ben Roberts - AfriNIC, <ben.roberts at afrinic.net<mailto:ben.roberts at afrinic.net>> wrote:
I think The DPI systems are normally run by state owned digital agency entities which are already mostly LIRs having some space. It is not quite as you describe being state owned LIRs that have sovereign owned IPs that are independent of LIRs..

Sent from my iPhone

On 13 Oct 2025, at 20:01, Noah <noah at neo.co.tz<mailto:noah at neo.co.tz>> wrote:

54 African States are taking public services online.

Digital Public infrastructure (DPI) is nolonger an idea. Its a real thing. DPI is critical. The private sector will tap into that infrastructure. Its here now.

Each of the 54 African states need address space indepedent of LIR space in each sovereign state.

These are not ideas that actors in the private sector care about or think about.

Cheers,
./noah

On Mon, 13 Oct 2025, 5:52 pm Andrew Alston, <aa at alstonnetworks.net<mailto:aa at alstonnetworks.net>> wrote:
Hi All,

I was wondering if there were updated statistics for the amount of space allocated in the last 3 years.  In addition to this information regarding exactly how much free space is still available in the IPv4 unallocated pool (excluding reservations)

I ask this because depending on the allocation rate - we may wish to consider revising the soft-landing policy that currently reserves a /12 worth of ipv4 space for "future uses, as yet unforeseen".

I point out that the soft landing policy was ratified in 2011, and if we still, after 14 years, have not been able to articulate a clear reason for such a large reservation, I think it's time we look at most, if not all, of that /12 back into the main unallocated pool that can be allocated for African resource holders that actually need it.

Amongst other reasons, sitting with unallocated, unannounced, reserved space like this leaves the space vulnerable to hijacking and malicious use or even potential theft.

Thanks

Andrew

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Hendrik Visage

hvisage at hevis.co.za

HeViS.Co Systems Pty Ltd

https://www.envisage.co.za

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