Hello, I'd like to object to how this vote is being framed. This isn't how voting is supposed to work. There has been strong demand for a large tiered/proportional model over the last three years or so. I was personally one of its supporters and advocates. A tiered model is supposed to distribute expenses evenly across members in proportion to their size, and consumer size is reasonably well estimated by the size of the IPv4 space in use - that, and only that, is why IPv4 sizing is relevant to this discussion. What was actually offered as a "tiered model" is far from that, if not the opposite. With the added fee cap and other creative manipulations, this model simply shifts expenses away from completely empty LIRs onto everyone else, significantly increasing fees for nearly all members. It's no surprise that neither I nor any other small/mid-size LIR wants this model. In other words - if you're offered the choice between cutting off both legs or just one, the correct answer is "just one," but that doesn't make the vote legitimate. :) A real tiered model, in my opinion, would make huge international Tier-1 operators pay six- to seven-figure fees, while a regional LIR with a couple of nets would pay less than it does today. Proportionally. I see this as the only legitimate and fair model. Another question raised was "what do we get compared to ARIN?" - also not, in my opinion, the correct question to ask. No LIR ever opted in to choose which services it wants and which it doesn't. LIR status is a requirement, not a voluntary subscription. With all due respect to RIPE Stat, Atlas probes, courses and trainings - we never signed up to fund those services as a condition of being a LIR. Personally, I need exactly the same things from RIPE that I need from ARIN: tickets, ASNs, allocations, database. Nothing beyond that. As for IPv4 allocations, I keep seeing the same question repeated here over the last three years. IPv4 space will not be reallocated, it will not return to the free pool, it will not be distributed differently, and it will not become cheaper regardless of which payment model RIPE adopts. That's a fact we need to live with. It would help the discussion a great deal if members here recognised that IPv4 plays a small role in it - purely as an indicator of LIR size. Cheers, Mihail Fedorov
On 27 May 2026, at 10:26, Sebastian-Becker--- via members-discuss <members-discuss@ripe.net> wrote:
Hi Alexandra,
What is your message? Do you have any idea how the ‘large IPv4 owners’ voted? I doubt it.
It's a democratic decision — that's how voting works. In fact, this means that both models work, and there was a slight majority for one of them. Those who did not vote have to automatically accept that.
Adoption of IPv6 is even more prevalent on the service side nowadays. None of the ISPs can get rid of any IPv4 space unless they are also offering their services in IPv6. Nevertheless, projects are still starting out as IPv4-only. Do IPv6 first. Stop complaining about the IPv4 shortage.
-- Kind regards Sebastian Becker
Von: Alexandre <alexandre-ripe-ncc@lotharedon.org> Datum: Mittwoch, 27. Mai 2026 um 09:17 An: members-discuss@ripe.net <members-discuss@ripe.net> Betreff: [members-discuss] Re: RIPE NCC Charging Scheme Proposals - result announced.
I'm really enjoying all of this messages from large IPv4 pool owners, stating as obvious to keep a flat charging scheme. But this vote tells an other story : having a 51/49% split means none of the proposed model was attractive enough to make a large member approbation. Stating otherwise would be very disrespectful toward the voting members.
But please, don't fail to notice that all of this discussions about charging schemes are because many large service providers and ISP don't put enough work into their IPv6 adoption. As displayed during a previous RIPE meeting, small IPv4 operators have an higher IPv6 adoption rate than bigger ones. So if one doesn't want to fell disrespected again with new discussions about charging schemes, they know what they should do.
Regards, Alexandre
Le 26/05/2026 à 13:21, Brian Storey via members-discuss a écrit :
Precisely.
What is important now is for the result to be accepted and move on. Arriving at either of the options in the 2027 Charging Scheme Proposal was the culmination of a great deal of effort and refinement of recent previous attempts. It became THE Vote. The big one! Could this be the one where the category model finally wins? No.
To be asked to vote again on this within the next few years should be considered disrespectful to the membership and the vote they hold. I strongly suspect that irrespective on which side of the coin you are, most don’t want to be asked again any time soon either.
Brian
Brian Storey
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*From:*Andy Davidson <Andy.Davidson@ask4.com> *Sent:* 22 May 2026 15:55 *To:* Stephen Carter (Fujitsu) <stephen.carter2@fujitsu.com>; members- discuss@ripe.net *Subject:* [members-discuss] Re: RIPE NCC Charging Scheme Proposals - result announced.
On 22 May 2026, at 13:20, Stephen Carter (Fujitsu) via members-discuss <members-discuss@ripe.net <mailto:members-discuss@ripe.net>> wrote:
So, a member pays half of the flat fee and half of the category fee
– as I could see some members having a large increase in their
fees if 75% are better off – and that ‘jump’ may not be budgeted for.
No. The option B was the voting scheme with large jumps and it did not pass.
The meeting was asked to reach a decision. It decided that in this membership of equals, we should contribute equally and be treated equally.
Rare that I am the majority side of a 51/49 split in a referendum, but I really do feel the answer reached is the right one, for a membership organisation, in the long term.
Andy
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