Dear SIG members,

A new version of the proposal "prop-148-v004: Clarification - Leasing of
Resources is not Acceptable"
has been sent to the Policy SIG for review.

The title of the proposal is changed to "Clarification: Leasing of
Resources is not Acceptable unless
justified in the original resource request".

Information about earlier versions is available from:

http://www.apnic.net/policy/proposals/prop-148

You are encouraged to express your views on the proposal:

  - Do you support or oppose the proposal?
  - Is there anything in the proposal that is not clear?
  - What changes could be made to this proposal to make it more effective?

Please find the text of the proposal below.

Regards,
Bertrand, Shaila, and Anupam
APNIC Policy SIG Chairs


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prop-148-v005: Clarification: Leasing of Resources is not Acceptable
unless justified in the original resource request

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Proposer: Jordi Palet Martinez (jordi.pa...@theipv6company.com)
           Amrita Choudhury (amritachoudh...@ccaoi.in)
           Fernando Frediani (fhfred...@gmail.com)


1. Problem statement
--------------------
RIRs/NIRs have been conceived to manage, allocate and assign resources
according to need, in such way that a LIR/ISP has addresses to be able
to directly connect its customers based on justified need. Addresses are
not, therefore, a property with which to trade or do business.

When the justification of the need disappears or changes, for whatever
reasons, the expected thing would be to return said addresses to the
RIR/NIR, otherwise according to Section 4.1. (“The original basis of the
delegation remains valid”) and 4.1.2. (“Made for a specific purpose that
no longer exists, or based on information that is later found to be
false or incomplete”) of the policy manual, APNIC is not enforced to
renew the license. An alternative is to transfer these resources using
the appropriate transfer policy.

If any form of leasing of addresses is authorized, contrary to the
original spirit of the policies and the very existence of the RIRs/NIRs,
the link between connectivity and addresses disappears, which also poses
security problems, since, in the absence of connectivity, the resource
holder who has received the license to use the addresses does not have
immediate physical control to manage/filter them, which can cause damage
to the entire community.

Therefore, it should be made explicit in the Policies that the Internet
Resources should not be leased “per se”, but only as part of a
connectivity service, unless it was documented and accepted with the
original need justification.

The existing policies of APNIC are not explicit about that, however
current policies do not regard any form of leasing of addresses as
acceptable, if they are not an integral part of a connectivity service.
Specifically, the justification of the need would not be valid for those
blocks of addresses whose purpose is not to connect customers of an
LIR/ISP, and consequently the renewal of the annual license for the use
of the addresses would not be valid either. Sections 3.2.6. (Address
ownership), 3.2.7. (Address stockpiling) and 3.2.8. (Reservations not
supported) of the policy manual, are keys on this issue, but an explicit
clarification is required.


2. Objective of policy change
-----------------------------
Despite the fact that the intention in this regard underlies the entire
Policy Manual text and is thus applied to justify the need for
resources, this proposal makes this aspect explicit by adding the
appropriate clarifying text.


3. Situation in other regions
-----------------------------
In other RIRs, the leasing of addresses is not authorized either and
since it is not explicit in their policy manuals either, this proposal
will be presented as well.

Nothing is currently mentioned in RIPE about this and originally it was
not acceptable as a justification of the need.

In AFRINIC and LACNIC, the staff has confirmed that address leasing is
not considered as valid for the justification. In ARIN it is not
considered valid as justification of need.

A similar proposal is under discussion in LACNIC and ARIN.


4. Proposed policy solution
---------------------------
5.8. Leasing of Internet Number Resources

In the case of Internet number resources delegated by APNIC or a NIR,
the justification of the need implies the need to use on their own
infrastructure and/or network connectivity services provided to
customers. As a result, any form of IP address leasing is unacceptable,
nor does it justify the need, unless otherwise justified in the original
request. Even for networks that are not connected to the Internet, any
form of leasing of IP addresses is not permitted, because such sites can
request direct assignments from APNIC or the relevant NIR and, in the
case of IPv4, use private addresses or arrange transfers.

APNIC should proactively investigate lack of compliance with the
original resource request justification, including suspected cases for
any form of leasing and also initiate the investigation in case of
reports by means of a form, email address or other means developed by APNIC.

If any form of leasing, regardless of when the delegation has been
issued, is confirmed by an APNIC investigation, it will be considered a
policy violation and revocation may apply against any account holders
who are leasing or using them for any purposes not specified in the
initial request.


5. Advantages / Disadvantages
-----------------------------
Advantages:
Fulfilling the objective above indicated and making the policy clear.

Disadvantages:
None. APNIC can already do this today, however, existing policies don’t
explicit them clearly.


6. Impact on resource holders
-----------------------------
None, unless they violate policies, but this proposal don’t change that,
only clarify it.


7. References
-------------
• https://www.arin.net/participate/policy/proposals/2022/ARIN_prop_308_v2/https://politicas.lacnic.net/politicas/detail/id/LAC-2022-2/language/en
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