Out of Region Use of AFRINIC Internet Number Resources (AFPUB-2014-GEN-001-DRAFT-04)

1) Summary of the Problem Being Addressed by this Policy Proposal

Currently AFRINIC's policies do not explicitly allow or disallow Out-Of-Region use of Internet number resources. This silence on an important aspect of number resource management jeopardizes administration by leaving staff to decide arbitrarily how to handle Out-Of-Region requests. The imminent exhaustion of IPv4 aggravates the situation, as it is anticipated that organizations from other regions will have more incentive to exploit this and other loopholes in AFRINIC's policies to acquire resources for sale or use outside the region.

2) Summary of How this Proposal Addresses the Problem

1. This policy tries to be a disincentive to organizations from other regions that want to acquire number resources from AFRINIC for use in ways that are not in the best interests of the AFRINIC community. The policy also provides guidance on how resources allocated and assigned by AFRINIC maybe be used out of region by legitimate AFRINIC members.
2. For the avoidance of doubt, the author does not seek to prolong the lifespan of IPv4 with this policy; rather, to ensure that number resources allocated and assigned by AFRINIC are used by members from the service region to support their legitimate network operations, regardless of physical location.
3. For purposes of clarity, this policy in no way promotes Out-Of-Region use of Internet resources. Instead, it is cognizant of the fact that organizations with allocations from AFRINIC may need to use some of their resources outside of the region to support their in-region network operations.

3) Proposal

1. Upon ratification of this policy, out-of-region use of AFRINIC's number resources shall be permitted as long it is preceded by use within the region.
2. Notwithstanding 3a, the number resources used outside the region at any time shall not exceed 40% of the total space in use by a member. Total space in use shall be calculated as follows: if x be the allocation size; and y the amount of space in use at time z, then 40% of y shall be the ceiling).
3. Regional Internet Number resources usage will be determined using Whois database information, global routing table announcements, and for purposes of consistency, other criteria prescribed by AFRINIC.
4. AFRINIC staff shall by use of 3c, carryout due diligence to assess compliance with 3a and 3b.
5. This policy shall forthwith be part of the acceptable use policy for Internet numbers and any breaches shall be dealt with in accordance with the RSA and other AFRINIC policies.
6. For the avoidance of doubt, this policy shall not be applied in mutual exclusion, but, shall complement already existing policies and other eligibility criteria prescribed by AFRINIC.
7. This policy shall apply to past, present and future allocations made by AFRINIC.
8. This policy shall remain in effect until:

1. It is directly replaced by another policy or it is superseded by a board resolution.
2. Section 3.8 of the IPv4 Softanding Policy kicks in. (Use of IPv4 space from the last /8 outside the region shall be only to facilitate connectivity back to the region).

4. Version History

03/07/2014:  Version AFPUB-2014-GEN-001-DRAFT-01 posted to the mailing list.

20/10/2014:  Version AFPUB-2014-GEN-001-DRAFT-02 published. Sentence in 3(b) changed from “Total space in use shall be calculated as follows: if x be the allocation/assignment size; and x-y the amount of space in use at time z, then 40% of (x-y) shall be the ceiling)” to “Total space in use shall be calculated as follows: if x be the allocation/assignment size; and y the amount of space in use at time z, then 40% of y shall be the ceiling)”

27/05/2015:  Version AFPUB-2014-GEN-001-DRAFT-03 published:

• Remove “past” from 3.f. This is to solve the issue of applying the policy retrospectively
• Change last like of 1 to read: in the AFRINIC community’s best interest.
• Change requested during discussion
• Change 3.b to read Total space in use shall be calculated as follows: if x be the allocation size; and y the amount of space in use at time z. This is to resolve the issue with definition of y brought up during staff analysis.
• Remove the word "assignment" from the policy so that it applies only to allocations.

13/10/2015 Version AFPUB-2014-GEN-001-DRAFT-04 published:

• Change last line of Sec. 1 to read: in the AFRINIC community’s best interests. (Change was requested during discussion).
• Change 3b to read “Total space in use shall be calculated as follows: if x be the allocation size; and y the amount of space in use at time z”. This is to resolve the issue with definition of y brought up during the staff analysis.
• Remove the word "assignment" from the policy so that it applies only to allocations.
• Delete 3.3 (staff’s discretion) to address the issue of completely leaving the policy and its implementation to AFRINIC staff.
• Add 3c to provide clarity on the definition of Out-Of-Region use and how it will be determined.
• Add 2c and re-write 2a. “Summary of the Problem” to more clearly articulate the intent of the policy to eliminate the pervasive community confusion around the policy

24/02/2016 Withdrawn by Author