Proposal to amend APNIC Fee Structure
Effect of IPv6 address holdings on membership tier
Summary
The APNIC Executive Council proposes to amend the Membership Fee Schedule to take account of the new IPv6 policy (to be implemented 1 July 2002).
The effect of the proposed amendment would be to ensure that the minimum allocation of IPv6 address space continues to correspond with the "Small" member category.
Comments are sought on this proposal by 30 June 2002.
Background and issue
At the RIPE 42 meeting this month, the new IPv6 policy proposal was accepted, which means that a common policy has now been approved in all regions. The new policy is to be implemented on 1 July 2002.
The new policy has been discussed in detail in the Asia Pacific region, at APNIC meetings and on mailing lists, and has been accepted by consensus of APNIC stakeholders.
However, the effect of the new minimum allocation size on membership fees has not yet been fully considered by the APNIC membership.
Currently, the APNIC membership fee structure for IPv4 and IPv6 applies the "Small" membership category to any ISP which has received the minimum allocation of address space.
The structure is as follows:
Membership tier |
IPv4 address holding |
IPv6 address holding |
Very Small |
up to and including /22 |
|
Small |
>/22 up to and including /19 |
up to and including /35 |
Medium |
>/19 up to and including /16 |
>/35 up to and including /32 |
Large |
>/16 up to and including /13 |
>/32 up to and including /29 |
Very Large |
>/13 up to and including /10 |
>/29 |
Extra Large |
>/10 |
|
A general principle behind the APNIC fee structure is that members who receive a minimum allocation should be assessed as Small members. However, under the new IPv6 policy, the minimum allocation will become /32, meaning that a minimum allocation of IPv6 address space would push a member into the medium category.
Proposal
To maintain the principle that the minimum allocation should correspond to the Small category, the Executive Council proposes the following amendments to the fee structure in relation to IPv6 address space:
Membership tier |
IPv6 address holding |
Very Small |
up to and including /35 |
Small |
>/35 up to and including /32 |
Medium |
>/32 up to and including /29 |
Large |
>/29 up to and including /26 |
Very Large |
>/26 up to and including /23 |
Extra Large |
>/23 |
The result of this is that existing holders of /35 IPv6 address ranges - but who hold no IPv4 address space - will be changed from Small to Very Small. However most existing IPv6 address holders will be unaffected, as they have IPv4 addresses, which put them in a higher category.
In addition, a member receiving a /32 will be assessed under the Small category. This will include any /35 holder which chooses to increase their allocation to a /32 under the new policy.
Higher categories will also come into effect as the allocation increases in size, on the same 3-bit intervals currently used in IPv6 and IPv4.
Comments requested
The Executive Council recognises that decisions on the APNIC fee structure are normally finalised in Member Meetings. However, in this case, the proposal is to ensure the fees that apply to the new allocation policy are consistent with the principles already agreed upon by the membership. Also, in this case, the effect of the proposal is a general fee reduction (although for most members affected, their fees will remain at the current level).
Therefore, the Executive Council calls for comments on this proposal. Unless there are strong objections, the Executive council proposes that the amended fee schedule be implemented with the introduction of the new IPv6 allocation policy.
Comments should be directed to the apnic-talk mailing list before 30 June 2002.
