* Kurt Jaeger wrote:
It was a very wise and forward-looking decision to have it structured like it is structured right now.
Compare RIPE/IETF/etc with ITU and specs from the telco world.
Compare RIPE/IETF/etc with the way mobile frequencies are managed.
One scenario was to have the governments handle the numbers management. We can be sure it would much more expensive (fee structure) and slower and would still cost the ISP much more money to apply for resources.
Those discussions and proposals are not gone over the years. In fact, they are back on the stage since about five years. The whole multi-stakeholder model - like ICANN and RIRs - are under pressure from several governments (look out for Brazil, Russia, China, and many more). The goal is to control the resources similar to the ITU under the umbrella of the UN. Even the control of the interconnections are in active development. Think about government controlled peering and nation based routing for the sake of national security (and to protect the children). Welcome to the Splinternet.