[rpd] Promoting IPv6 adoption

Thu May 28 13:52:50 UTC 2026

Hi Theresa,

I think it needs to be understood that IPv4 is legacy and its main usage must be supporting transition.

This has been said already many times, but I think we need to repeat it.

It doesn’t make any sense to extend any existing network, or to deploy a new one, with IPv4-only.

We are not saying it must be done with IPv6-only. In fact, the way is IPv6-Only with IPv4-as-a-Service, which basically means this is not a migration (we aren’t talking about removing IPv4 completely), it is transition and coexistence (there is no such concept as migration defined by IETF).

The Soft Landing policy was designed having this in mind, it is clear reading 5.4 in the CPM, however we didn’t took measures at that time to make it happen. Now is the time.

At that time the IPv6 deployment levels were very low globally, but at this time, Africa is overall, the bigger lagging region and no great signs that this is changing quickly.

There is not today, any technical or even economical rationale to support IPv4 only. In fact across many deployments where I’ve participated in more than 150 countries, the result is that deploying IPv6 is much cheaper than IPv4 (IPv6 supporting equipment is not more expensive than IPv4, is the same price, and some cost are much lower, such as no need for CGN boxes). The problem is basically a lack of decision by executives, not technical people.

We need to accommodate to the pace of each one, but a credible pace, not a pace like “I get more IPv4, promise IPv6, but I’m lazy and don’t have now the time to do it". I think is fine that we accommodate the text in the new version so each one can say “I realistically will grow 15% my network in the next year (that’s why I’m asking for IPv4 addresses), and I will do that with IPv6, so I commit to % IPv6 traffic for the 1st year, % next one and so on”. I’m happy to try as much as possible, with all your contributions, to accommodate the text in the next version, in such way that is not like you say having the cost and pressure unbalanced.

Regards,
Jordi

@jordipalet

> El 28 may 2026, a las 15:24, Theresa Dukumor <theresadukumor at gmail.com> escribió:
> 
> Dear PDWG,
> 
> While I appreciate the goal of promoting IPv6 adoption, I have concerns about making it a condition for IPv4 allocations under Soft Landing. IPv4 is still the operating foundation for many in this region. Adding a mandate compounds cost and complexity without proven benefit, turning a resource policy into a migration mandate. The cost and pressure would fall on ordinary operators, while the main winners are likely registry governance bodies and large equipment vendors. I ask the PDWG to examine these consequences carefully.
> 
> Regards,
> Theresa
> 
> 
> On Thu, May 28, 2026 at 9:23 AM <rpd-request at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd-request at afrinic.net>> wrote:
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>> Today's Topics:
>> 
>>    1. IPv6 as a criteria in IPv4 Soft Landing
>>       AFPUB-2026-v6-001-DRAFT01. (Darwin Da Costa)
>>    2. Re: Require newly created AS-SETs to have hierarchical names
>>       AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT01. (Jaco Kroon)
>>    3. AFRINIC Policy Compliance Dashboard ID
>>       AFPUB-2026-GEN-002-DRAFT01. (Darwin Da Costa)
>>    4. Re: IPv6 as a criteria in IPv4 Soft Landing
>>       AFPUB-2026-v6-001-DRAFT01. (Gbemisola Esho)
>> 
>> 
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Thu, 28 May 2026 10:05:07 +0200
>> From: Darwin Da Costa <dacostadarwin at gmail.com <mailto:dacostadarwin at gmail.com>>
>> To: rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>
>> Subject: [rpd] IPv6 as a criteria in IPv4 Soft Landing
>>         AFPUB-2026-v6-001-DRAFT01.
>> Message-ID: <7DED1C3E-6BCB-4414-8F8D-9252540BAE18 at gmail.com <mailto:7DED1C3E-6BCB-4414-8F8D-9252540BAE18 at gmail.com>>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>> 
>> Dear PDWG,
>> 
>> We have received a new draft policy proposal - IPv6 as a criteria in IPv4 Soft Landing ID AFPUB-2026-v6-001-DRAFT01 from author Jordi Palet Martinez. The proposal contents are published at:  
>> 
>> https://afrinic.net/afpub-2026-v6-001-draft01 
>> 
>> 
>> We encourage you to take some time to go through the proposal contents and  provide feedback as follows:
>> 
>> a)Do you support or oppose the proposal?
>> 
>> b) If you oppose the proposal, state your reasons?
>> 
>> c) Is there anything in the proposal that is not clear?
>> 
>> d) What changes could be made to this proposal to make it more effective?
>> 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Vincent Ngundi & Darwin Da Costa
>> AFRINIC PDWG Co-Chairs
>> 
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>> ------------------------------
>> 
>> Message: 2
>> Date: Thu, 28 May 2026 10:07:01 +0200
>> From: Jaco Kroon <jaco at uls.co.za <mailto:jaco at uls.co.za>>
>> To: James Bensley <james at inter.link>, "dacostadarwin at gmail.com <mailto:dacostadarwin at gmail.com>"
>>         <dacostadarwin at gmail.com <mailto:dacostadarwin at gmail.com>>, "rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>" <rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>>
>> Subject: Re: [rpd] Require newly created AS-SETs to have hierarchical
>>         names AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT01.
>> Message-ID: <bb3e9cba-d018-44b5-8364-7e7165f2bb70 at uls.co.za <mailto:bb3e9cba-d018-44b5-8364-7e7165f2bb70 at uls.co.za>>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>> 
>> Hi James,
>> 
>> On 2026/05/28 09:54, James Bensley wrote:
>> 
>> > Hi Jaco,
>> >
>> > Thank you for the support and your feedback.
>> >
>> > I wrote the original proposal. Regarding this comment:
>> >
>> > "The only thing that I found weird is that the second element has to be a name, why would "ASnum:ASnum2:AS-name" not be acceptable?"
>> >
>> > If you have a use case for that, then that could be added to the proposal. Do you have a use case/requirement for this? I think this usage is very rare, but if you have this use case, please speak up :)
>> 
>> It's a hierarchy right, so what if I want to refer my customers by their 
>> AS numbers?
>> 
>> Eg, ASyyyy:ASxxxx:AS-set
>> 
>> It's an arbitrary and in my opinion unneeded restriction which can be 
>> removed.? The only restriction is that the first component has to be 
>> ASnum where you have control over AS num.? The rest can be left to the 
>> discretion of the ASnum admin surely?
>> 
>> So just drop bullet three entirely.
>> 
>> >
>> >
>> > Regarding this comment:
>> >
>> > "The purpose/function of "3. Other set types such as route sets are excluded." is unclear - everything else speaks specifically to AS-SET so why is this mention required?"
>> >
>> > Because route-sets can also support hierarchical names and in the past people have had the thought "well if we're making this change for AS-SETs let's also making it for Route-Sets whilst we're here" - but route-sets are extremely rarely used today and this just adds scope which I think isn't needed. So it was just about trying to stop that scope creep.
>> 
>> I hear you.
>> 
>> 7.8 as as whole specifically states "AS-SET" - not "Set Types", and 
>> point 1 also makes it clears this refers specifically to AS-SET, which 
>> means point 3 can be dropped without changing the intent/meaning of 7.8 
>> as a whole.
>> 
>> Point 4 also really adds no value, that's an operational issue, not a 
>> policy issue.? Definitely a valid point and something to be aware but 
>> still operational, not policy.
>> 
>> Exceptions to the policy may need to be permitted on a case by case 
>> basis *if and only if* a non-hierarchical AS-SET has been accidentally 
>> deleted to allow recreation.? IMHO these should require motivation to 
>> have them restored from where they can then be edited again as per point 6.
>> 
>> Kind regards,
>> Jaco
>> 
>> >
>> > With kind regards,
>> > James Bensley (he/him)
>> >
>> > ________________________________________
>> > From: Jaco Kroon <jaco at uls.co.za <mailto:jaco at uls.co.za>>
>> > Sent: 21 May 2026 14:06
>> > To: dacostadarwin at gmail.com <mailto:dacostadarwin at gmail.com> <dacostadarwin at gmail.com <mailto:dacostadarwin at gmail.com>>; rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net> <rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>>
>> > Subject: Re: [rpd] Require newly created AS-SETs to have hierarchical names AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT01.
>> >
>> > Hi,
>> >
>> > Definitely in support.
>> >
>> > The only thing that I found weird is that the second element has to be a
>> > name, why would "ASnum:ASnum2:AS-name" not be acceptable?
>> >
>> > The purpose/function of "3. Other set types such as route sets are
>> > excluded." is unclear - everything else speaks specifically to AS-SET so
>> > why is this mention required?
>> >
>> > Kind regards,
>> > Jaco
>> >
>> > On 2026/05/20 19:37, dacostadarwin at gmail.com <mailto:dacostadarwin at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Dear PDWG,
>> >>
>> >> We have received a new draft policy proposal - Require newly created AS-SETs to have hierarchical names, ID AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT01 from author James Bensley.
>> >>
>> >> The proposal contents are published at:
>> >> https://afrinic.net/policy/proposals/afpub-2026-asn-001-draft01
>> >>
>> >> We encourage you to take some time to go through the proposal contents and  provide feedback as follows:
>> >>
>> >> a) Do you support or oppose the proposal?
>> >>
>> >> b) If you oppose the proposal, state your reasons?
>> >>
>> >> c) Is there anything in the proposal that is not clear?
>> >>
>> >> d) What changes could be made to this proposal to make it more effective?
>> >>
>> >> Regards,
>> >> Vincent Ngundi & Darwin Da Costa
>> >> AFRINIC PDWG Co-Chairs
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> _______________________________________________
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>> > Inter..link GmbH | Boxhagener Stra?e 80, 10245 Berlin, Germany | Managing Directors: Marc Korthaus, Theo Voss | Commercial Register: Amtsgericht Charlottenburg, HRB 138876 | VAT ID: DE281288887 | Email: hello at inter.link<mailto:hello at inter.link <mailto:hello at inter.link>> | Web: inter.link<https://inter.link <https://inter.link/>>
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------
>> 
>> Message: 3
>> Date: Thu, 28 May 2026 10:07:31 +0200
>> From: Darwin Da Costa <dacostadarwin at gmail.com <mailto:dacostadarwin at gmail.com>>
>> To: rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>
>> Subject: [rpd] AFRINIC Policy Compliance Dashboard ID
>>         AFPUB-2026-GEN-002-DRAFT01.
>> Message-ID: <FD310813-B1DF-4F1A-85C6-4B563F1C5BBA at gmail.com <mailto:FD310813-B1DF-4F1A-85C6-4B563F1C5BBA at gmail.com>>
>> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset=us-ascii
>> 
>> Dear PDWG,
>> 
>> We have received a new draft policy proposal - AFRINIC Policy Compliance Dashboard ID AFPUB-2026-GEN-002-DRAFT01 from author Jordi Palet Martinez. The proposal contents are published at:  
>> 
>> https://afrinic.net/afpub-2026-gen-002-draft01 
>> 
>> 
>> We encourage you to take some time to go through the proposal contents and  provide feedback as follows:
>> 
>> a) Do you support or oppose the proposal?
>> 
>> b) If you oppose the proposal, state your reasons?
>> 
>> c) Is there anything in the proposal that is not clear?
>> 
>> d) What changes could be made to this proposal to make it more effective?
>> 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Vincent Ngundi & Darwin Da Costa
>> AFRINIC PDWG Co-Chairs
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------
>> 
>> Message: 4
>> Date: Thu, 28 May 2026 09:22:45 +0100
>> From: Gbemisola Esho <gbemiadepojuesho at gmail.com <mailto:gbemiadepojuesho at gmail.com>>
>> To: Darwin Da Costa <dacostadarwin at gmail.com <mailto:dacostadarwin at gmail.com>>
>> Cc: rpd <rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>>
>> Subject: Re: [rpd] IPv6 as a criteria in IPv4 Soft Landing
>>         AFPUB-2026-v6-001-DRAFT01.
>> Message-ID:
>>         <CAG0SVrMyy-N4D25s-G05kTyuRfvL=fisTUzHiU-QXgHL+OxPAA at mail.gmail.com <mailto:fisTUzHiU-QXgHL%2BOxPAA at mail.gmail.com>>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>> 
>> Acknowledged with thanks
>> 
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Gbemisola Esho
>> 
>> On Thu, 28 May 2026, 09:08 Darwin Da Costa, <dacostadarwin at gmail.com <mailto:dacostadarwin at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> 
>> > Dear PDWG,
>> >
>> >
>> > We have received a new draft policy proposal - IPv6 as a criteria in IPv4
>> > Soft Landing ID AFPUB-2026-v6-001-DRAFT01 from author Jordi Palet Martinez.
>> > The proposal contents are published at:
>> >
>> >
>> > https://afrinic.net/afpub-2026-v6-001-draft01
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > We encourage you to take some time to go through the proposal contents and
>> >  provide feedback as follows:
>> >
>> >
>> > a)Do you support or oppose the proposal?
>> >
>> >
>> > b) If you oppose the proposal, state your reasons?
>> >
>> >
>> > c) Is there anything in the proposal that is not clear?
>> >
>> >
>> > d) What changes could be made to this proposal to make it more effective?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> >
>> > Vincent Ngundi & Darwin Da Costa
>> >
>> > AFRINIC PDWG Co-Chairs
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > RPD mailing list
>> > RPD at afrinic.net <mailto:RPD at afrinic.net>
>> > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd
>> >
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