NRO writes ITU-IPv6 group denies difficulty in obtaining IP

As the International Telecommunication Union’s Internet Protocol version 6 Working Group (ITU-IPv6) begins its third session today in Geneva, Switzerland, the Number Resource Organization (NRO) has written to the group’s chairman, Mr. Mohammed Al Khamis, insisting there is no difficulty in obtaining the latest IP addresses across the world.

The Number Resource Organization (NRO) is a coordinating body for the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that manage the distribution of Internet number resources including IP addresses and Autonomous System Numbers.

Each RIR consists of the Internet community in its region and are made up of the African Network Information Center (AfriNIC), Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC) and Reseaux Internet Protocol Europeans Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC).

Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) manage, distribute, and register Internet number resources (IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and Autonomous System Numbers) within their respective regions.

The responses of the NRO endorsed sighted by ITRealms Online at the weekend indicated that it was completed in preparation for the third meeting of the ITU IPv6 Working Group which is set to convene in Geneva, Switzerland April 7 and 8, 2011.

The NRO will be represented at this event through the participation of those RIRs who are members of the ITU.

NRO in the letter responded to ITU IPv6 Group Liaison Statement, LS 3 referring particularly to Contribution C 19 on “Problems and Solutions” submitted by the Syrian Arab Republic, which implied that there is difficulty in obtaining IPv6.

Although they noted that the C 19 paper suggested that “…historical imbalances [in IPv4] are not being corrected” in IPv6 allocation methods. However, it must be noted that the early large IPv4 allocations were a phenomenon that predated the creation of the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) system of Internet number resource distribution, and there is no evidence that these kinds of practices are being repeated in the IPv6 era.

But in the NRO views on the C 19 paper they do not charge fees for IP addresses, rather, RIR fee structures are based on the recovery of ongoing operational and maintenance costs (allocating addresses, maintaining a whois database for resource registration, and associated services, such as reverse Domain Name System (DNS).

According t o the letter, RIRs consult with their members regarding the activities they perform, and regarding the appropriate member fees.

“In fact, historically, in all RIRs, membership fees have trended downward. Any future changes in RIR fees will be decided in consultation with their respective memberships,” part of the letter read.

Additionally, NRO stated that the fees charged by RIRs for maintenance of an IPv6 block are very low, and the demonstrated need requirements for an IPv6 allocation are lower than for an IPv4 allocation.

NRO noted that the barriers to network operators wishing to obtain IPv6 addresses from an RIR, including operators of small networks in developing countries, are minimal, even as networks that are not ISPs could also qualify for IPv6 addresses.
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D