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Policy Implementation and Experience Report#

ARIN 57 Public Policy and Members Meeting digest Program Adjacent pick 20–22 April 2026

Slides Recording

John Sweeting, ARIN (Chief Experience Officer)

Play the recording: Policy Implementation and Experience Report

  • Why: Where policy text meets operational reality — the most interesting part is ARIN staff's frank account of IPv4 leasing and inter-RIR transfer arbitrage, which affects the market everyone buys address space in.
  • What: Three items. (1) AFRINIC's inter-RIR transfer policy was ratified 4 February 2026; ARIN staff have reviewed it as reciprocal and will allow IPv4/ASN transfers to and from AFRINIC once AFRINIC implements. (2) On LACNIC's new third-party sub-assignment (leasing) policy: ARIN does not consider leasing to be efficient needs-based utilization for transfers (NRPM 8.⅜.4) or waitlist qualification — and staff have observed ARIN-originated space appearing on leasing platforms in other regions after inter-RIR transfer. (3) Options floated for encouraging IPv6 adoption: requiring demonstrated IPv6 deployment for IPv4 waitlist access.
  • How: A staff-practice report rather than a new mechanism; the leverage points are transfer approval criteria and waitlist eligibility rules.
  • Where applicable: Relevant to anyone acquiring or transferring IPv4 in the ARIN region, and to anyone modeling IPv4 market behavior across RIRs. The AFRINIC change materially alters the global transfer map.