[rpd] The IPv4 Country Allocation Poverty line in Africa.

[Noah]

Hi Ben

Thanks for the research and writeup.. the below conclusion reasonates and
more than any time... as you have rightly pointed out...

"
For AfriNIC and Regional Organizations:
- Support Internet infrastructure development in underserved regions
"

The above need to form part of the most important strategic goals the
registry shall have to undertake inline with section 3 of the current
Afrinic Bylaws.

One way to support underserved regions would be to reform AFGWG and also
make it a deliberate objective to go out of the way to work with leaders in
those countries.

Afrinic must spend less time and energy in countries that are in green
color.

Noah

Cheers,
*.**/noah*


On Tue, 14 Oct 2025, 2:02 pm ben.roberts--- via RPD, <rpd at afrinic.net>
wrote:

> All,
>
>
>
> Please find attached the analysed data of IPv4 allocation per capita,
> along with an interactive HTML map…  Along with a link to my latest blog..
>
>
>
> IPv4 Address Allocation in Africa: Are you above or Below the IP Address
> Poverty Line ?
>
> This analysis examines IPv4 address allocation per capita across 56
> African countries using data from AfriNIC (African Network Information
> Centre) resource allocation statistics for 2025. The findings reveal a
> stark digital divide, with allocation rates varying by a factor of nearly
> 60,000 between the best and worst-served nations.
>
>
>
>
> https://www.digitaleconomy.ke/post/ipv4-address-allocation-in-africa-are-you-above-or-below-the-ip-address-poverty-line
>
>
>
> Cheers
>
> Ben
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Noah <noah at neo.co.tz>
> *Sent:* 14 October 2025 12:20
> *To:* Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com>
> *Cc:* Ben Roberts AfriNIC <ben.roberts at afrinic.net>; Andrew Alston <
> aa at alstonnetworks.net>; RPD <rpd at afrinic.net>
> *Subject:* Re: [rpd] Questions about IP Allocation rate
>
>
>
> Its easier to say it would be nice to see folks deploy IPv6 until you
> realise ...Ooh wait a minute..Ops  IPv4 transfer markets still exists.
>
>
>
> That most of internet traffic is still IPv4 powered and almost all
> software is writted with IPv4 in mind and lots of  applications dont
> support IPv6.
>
>
>
> And then you also realise that In Africa unlike the Global North, the cost
> effective access technology does not support DHCPv6 or DS-Lite and that
> until recently even Windows OS let alone Android has issues with supporting
> CLAT on most personal handsets.
>
>
>
> Linux is not mainstream desktop OS in Africa. Most of the secondhand used
> PC comes preinstalled with outdated Windows OS.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> *./noah*
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, 14 Oct 2025, 11:44 am Owen DeLong, <owen at delong.com> wrote:
>
> 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> 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> 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> 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> 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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