So the dust has settled, and the curtains came down on ARIN 54 in Toronto. 

The presentation of Draft Policy ARIN-2023-8, saw continued and expected robust 
discussion regarding the proposal. 

ARIN-2023-8: Reduce 4.1.8 maximum allocation 

Problem Statement: 
4.1.8 waiting times are too long, making justifications untimely by the time a 
request is met. New entrants to the waiting list are expected to wait three 
years for their need to be met under current policy, with a waiting list of 
around 700 at this point. Data indicates that reducing the current /22 maximum 
further to a /24 would significantly reduce this waiting period, and further 
tightening the requirements by replacing the /20 recipient maximum holdings 
with a /24, and preventing multiple visits to the waiting list queue. 


There were also some minor editorial changes made to the September 30, 2024 
version which was presented at ARIN 54. The suggested Draft Policy is presented 
here: 


PROPOSED UPDATED TEXT (4.1.8 maximum allocation): 
4.1.8. ARIN Waitlist 
ARIN will only issue future IPv4 assignments/allocations (excluding 4.4 and 
4.10 space) from the ARIN Waitlist. The maximum size aggregate that an 
organization may qualify for is a /24. 

Organizations that have ever held any IPv4 space other than special use space 
received under section 4.4 or 4.10 are not eligible to apply. 

Address space distributed from the waitlist will not be eligible for transfer, 
with the exception of Section 8.2 transfers, for a period of 60 months. This 
restriction will be applied to all distributions from the waitlist to also 
include those organizations or requesters currently listed. Qualified 
requesters will also be advised of the availability of the transfer mechanism 
in section 8.3 as an alternative mechanism to obtain IPv4 addresses. 

Waiting list recipients must demonstrate the need for a /24 on an operating 
network. 

The limitation to a single /24 will be enforced for waitlist requests submitted 
after the implementation of this policy. Requests received before the policy 
change will be evaluated based on the policy in place at the time of the 
request. 


Current NRPM Text: 
https://www.arin.net/participate/policy/nrpm/#4-1-8-arin-waitlist 



I have provided a summary of the main positions below, along with the questions 
posed to the community regarding further work on the draft policy. 


    * In response to community feedback on PPML and during ARIN 53, and also 
echoed at ARIN 54, there is overwhelming support for the protection clause for 
those already on the waitlist, as a condition to consideration of support for 
the policy, as it was generally felt that a retroactive implementation would be 
unfair to those currently on the list. Therefore, if the policy is implemented, 
it will only impact new waitlist entrants (as at date of policy adoption) 
    * Reducing the allocation from /22 to /24 will not solve any tangible 
problem, but rather create a new one as /24 is too small for even the smaller 
organizations to use it properly to connect people and businesses; 
    * The proposal may be aimed at reducing anxiety from the waitlist’s long 
times, but the reality is that there are no more IPv4 addresses available to 
replenish the pool, and it has been so for a while; 
    * The waitlist is 2+ years long, with justifications of a 2-year 
projection. The needs as per the justification projections may have changed 
before the request is fulfilled. Does it matter if the needs-test is accurate 
at the time of allocation? 


Q: Wasn't there just a distribution in the ARIN-ISSUED report that would change 
the situation? 
A: Yes, there were 318 /24s allocated to 117 organizations on the waitlist in 
early October ( The last distribution was completed Friday, 4 October 2024 ). 
There were 819 organizations on the waitlist at the time of distribution with 
702 remaining upon completion of the distribution. The oldest request was from 
January 31, 2023 (20 months) and the newest request filled was from April 25, 
2023 (17 months). If the maximum allocated had been limited to /24 by policy 
then 318 requests would have been filled leaving 501 remaining on the list with 
the newest request being filled near the end of September 2023 (12 months). 
Current waitlist as at December 18 is 831 (up from 792 on November 20, 709 on 
October 4 and was 824 on September 27); The next distribution will occur on or 
about Monday, 6 January 2025. 

As we can see, the list does not seem to be reducing, but rather holding steady 
at the current size of 700 - 800+. 


There were some interesting discussions presented at the "Table Topic" during 
the ARIN 54 session, but mostly within the scope of the options presented. 

Policy Impact - Options: 
Do Nothing: 
• 2+ year wait for current/existing requests to be completely fulfilled; 
• Waitlist times are likely to increase; 
• Run out will eventually happen unless organizations return IP address space 
to ARIN; 
• The number of transfers & cost of IPv4 could be impacted; 

Protection Clause: Same 2+ year wait time for fulfilment before the new policy 
comes into effect; 
No protections, immediate reductions: Will see a significant reduction in wait 
times from an immediate reduction to /24 for all requests; 


We are now seeing 4 feasible options for this Draft Policy: 
1. Consider revised policy as written (with proposed retroactive protections - 
still 3+-year lag and wait times); 
2. Consider policy without any retroactive protections (reduction in wait times 
by ⅔s); 
3. Do away with the Waitlist completely (new policy would be required); 
4. Abandon the policy (essentially, do nothing, no changes to current 
operations) 


We would like to determine some definite support for the listed options, to 
determine a way forward. 
- Option #2 didn't seem to have much support, as many voices were raised in 
favor of the "Protection Clause". 
- Option #3 & #4 both essentially mean an abandonment of the current draft 
policy (as written). 

Please weigh in and register your comments, opinions, support and/or 
suggestions. 

Regards, 


Gerry E. George 
ICT Consultant and Business Solutions Architect; 
Digi Solv , Inc. [P.O. Box 1677, Castries, Saint Lucia] 

Mobile : (758) 728-4858 / Int'l Office : (347) 450-3444 / Skype: DigiSolv 
Email : [email protected] / LinkedIn : 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrygeorge/ 

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