1. Background

Legacy resource holders are organisations that received IPv4 address space and Autonomous System Numbers before the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) system existed.

When AFRINIC RIR operations started, it inherited records of resource members and legacy resource holders from other RIRs, namely: the RIPE NCC, ARIN and APNIC.

AFRINIC maintains legacy resource registration records for organisations that are in its service region but there is no contractual relationship between the two parties.

AFRINIC provides support to legacy resource holders mostly ranging from:

• Contact information management
• Organisation details updates
• Internet routing registry
• Reverse DNS support
• Resource transfers

2. Services Accessible to Legacy Resource Holders

Although there is no contractual relationship between legacy resources holders and AFRINIC, legacy resources holders still benefit from the AFRINIC registry service support such as WHOIS, reverse DNS, the Internet routing registry, resource transfers, resolution of resource squatting and hijacks. However, legacy resource holders do not benefit from other services such as access to the MyAFRINIC Portal and the services it offers such as RPKI and DNSSEC. The services they can access include but are not limited to the following:

2.1. WHOIS Database Support

This relates to the management of the registration details such as:-

1. Organisation details (name, address, contact emails )
2. Registered Points of contact for the organisation (Person or Role Objects)
3. Resources (IPv4 and ASN) registered under the organisation

AFRINIC, in its effort to maintain up to date information in the WHOIS database, encourages legacy resource holders to contact us at hostmaster@afrinic.net and you will be required to verify your ownership of the legacy resource before your update request is effected.

More information may be accessed here: https://afrinic.net/support/whois 

2.2. Internet Routing Registry

The AFRINIC Internet Routing Registry (IRR) is a database of routing policy information for networks both within and outside the AFRINIC region. This routing policy information is stored in the IRR database as defined by the Routing Policy Specification Language (RPSL) standard in RFC2622.

The AFRINIC IRR acts as part of the global IRR system that consists of several other databases where network operators publish their routing announcements and policies in order for other interested network operators to use the data, for ease of interconnecting and coordination. There are other IRRs, including ARIN, APNIC, RIPE, RADB and many others. A full list of active IRRs is maintained here. Some of the listed IRRs mirror each other’s databases.

“The routing registry is a service that is available to both resource members and legacy resource holders. A legacy resource holder can interact with the routing registry by means of the WHOIS web interface (https://whois.afrinic.net) or use of an email to auto-dbm@afrinic.net.

Further support information regarding IRR can be found here 

2.3. Reverse DNS

Legacy resource holders will have to use the WHOIS web client (https://whois.afrinic.net) or use of an email to auto-dbm@afrinic.net to add domain objects to the WHOIS database since they do not have access to MyAFRINIC members portal.

Even though the Legacy Resource Holders does not have a contract with AFRINIC, AFRINIC shall ensure that Reverse DNS (rDNS) delegations are functional for all resources registered in the AFRINIC WHOIS DB. 

2.4. IPv4 Transfers and M&A

If an organisation acquired assets (such as network equipment and their customers) from another organisation via an acquisition or merger, and those assets are using the IP number resources, you may request a transfer of those resources.

AFRINIC will proceed with the processing of the transfer requests based on its mergers and acquisitions document available here. AFRINIC will assess the relevant documentation regarding the merger, acquisition or consolidation.

To address legacy Resource Holders undergoing M&A, consolidations or policy transfers, AFRINIC allows IPv4 resource transfer based on three categories;

• Mergers, acquisition or consolidations.
  If an organisation acquired assets (such as network equipment and their customers) from another organisation via an acquisition or merger, and those assets are using IP resources that were obtained from AFRINIC, you may request a transfer of those resources. AFRINIC will proceed with processing transfer requests based on the mergers and acquisitions document available on its website. AFRINIC will assess the IP utilisation and relevant documentation regarding the merger, acquisition or consolidation. In the event of verified inefficient IP utilisation, AFRINIC will work with the resource holder(s) to transfer the required number resources to the other organization(s) and voluntary return of the extra number resources to AFRINIC.
• Consolidations
  Consolidations are cases that involve a holding company and one or more of its subsidiaries. The evaluation of such case follow the case of mergers and acquisitions but, additionally, there should be enough evidence that demonstrates the entire company structure
• Transfer request based on the IPv4 Intra-RIR policy
  The IPv4 Intra-RIR transfer policy enables organisations from the AFRINIC region that have a valid need for IPv4 addresses to receive IPv4 resources from other organisation(s). Any legitimate IPv4 resource holder (resource members, legacy resource holders) in the AFRINIC service region that are not using IPv4 resources and are willing to transfer IPv4 resources are also eligible to submit a transfer request.

3. Updating your Whois registration records

AFRINIC encourages the owners of the legacy IP resources to get their information updated. Before any service is rendered, AFRINIC conducts its due diligence to ensure that the requesters are true owners of the resources. Legacy resource holders are required to provide evidence that ascertains the ownership of the IP resources.

3.1. How to proceed

Send an email service-support@afrinic.net. Upon successful submission, an email will be sent with your assigned ticket reference number.

Required Supporting Documentation

• Certificate of incorporation for the Legacy resource holder
• If there has been a name change/merger/acquisition - relevant signed documentation showing a full history of the pertaining transaction must be availed
• Documentation or communication from the past when the resources were issued or transferred to AFRINIC
• A sworn affidavit attesting to resource ownership
• Further information may be requested where certain aspects require further clarity.

3.2. What’s next?

AFRINIC will review the documents provided and verify that the organization is entitled to make updates to these Internet number resources.

Where AFRINIC determines that the organization is entitled to request the changes, the organization will be notified and requested to provide all necessary information that must be updated.

Once the information is received, the legacy resource holder’s details and the IP resource registration records will be updated on the AFRINIC Whois database accordingly

4. Legacy Resource Holders may become AFRINIC Resource Members

Legacy resource holders can become AFRINIC resource members through different circumstances and once they become a paying resource member, they benefit from the entire range of services that are accessible through the Myafrinic members portal.

Some of the scenarios include:

• Requesting for IP Resources (IPv4, IPv6 &/ ASN) from AFRINIC
  Legacy resource holders may request AFRINIC membership and resources based on their needs. The request is evaluated according to the current conditions as stipulated in policies, Registration Service Agreement and Bylaws. 
  Once all conditions are met and applicable fees paid, the legacy resources can be consolidated under the member account. These legacy resources will not impact the member’s billing category. 
  The consolidation is also done following a successful resource holdership verification exercise as stipulated in 2.4 above. 
• Request to become a resource member and lose the legacy status
  Legacy resource holders may request AFRINIC membership without requesting any resources from AFRINIC. In this particular case, the legacy resources lose the legacy status and are added to the AFRINIC pool of resources and the member has to abide by all applicable conditions including annual membership fees. 
• Resource Transfer
  Organisations from the AFRINIC service region that have a valid need for IPv4 addresses can request to receive IPv4 resources from other organisation(s) including IPv4 legacy resource holders in the AFRINIC service region that are willing to transfer IPv4 resources.
  Conditions from the transfer policy must be met before the resources are transferred. Once the transfer is complete, the resources are no longer considered legacy. 

For any further information, please contact us at hostmaster@afrinic.net