Hi, I don't see anyone asking anyone else to hand back IPv4 space. What is said is that since, eventually, one day, the Internet will be IPv6, taking the current user base of an ISP as a clear needed head count for IPv6 addresses is something useful. In other words, an IPv4 ISP should get at least their current user base worth of /48s if they ask for IPv6 addresses. Hope this adds clarity Joao Damas RIPE NCC At 13:57 +0100 25/9/01, Tim Chown wrote:
On Tue, 25 Sep 2001, Mirjam Kuehne wrote:
I agree with you that there will probably be a long transition period. The assumption however is that a network will at some stage be fully migrated to IPv6 and the IPv4 addresses will not be needed anymore.
An ISP is quite likely to continue offering IPv4 services for many, many years to come even after launching an IPv6 service. Unless IPv4-only customers are getting renumbered as the ISP's IPv4 space is compacted to enable chunks to be handed back, this won't happen. And renumbering is of course problematic. The most natural course is to not have any precondition on handing back IPv4 space, but of course to allow it if the ISP chooses. There seems to be little need to make such declarations now?
tim
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