Number Resource Organization Report Highlights Strong Growth in Both IPv4 and IPv6 Allocations

AMSTERDAM, 21 April 2010 – A new report issued by the Number Resource Organization (NRO) has found that demand for both IPv4 and IPv6 address space is continuing to grow. The Internet Number Resource Status Report for the first quarter of 2010 is based on data collected by the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that oversee the allocation of all Internet number resources, and outlines RIR allocation of IP address space (IPv4 and IPv6), as well as AS number assignments.

In the report, the NRO notes that allocations of IPv4 addresses in Q1 have reduced the IANA free pool of IPv4 addresses to 8.5 percent. During the same period, APNIC, the RIR for the Asia Pacific, allocated 1.6 /8s (nearly 27 million IPv4 addresses) to its members, more than any RIR has ever issued in a single quarter.

“The allocation rate of IPv4 addresses continues to increase due to the growing number of devices that require IP addresses – mobile phones, laptops, servers, routers, and more,” said Axel Pawlik, chair of the NRO. “We have also seen many new IP address requests from developing countries, whose populations are coming online more quickly than ever before.”

He also noted that additional allocations in early Q2 have now left only 7.8 percent of IPv4 addresses unallocated.

Key findings of the status report include:

·         APNIC issued 1.6 IPv4 /8s in the first quarter of 2010

·         APNIC issued 186 IPv6 allocations in the first quarter of 2010 – that is more allocations in three months than it has ever made in any single year

·         For only the second time, LACNIC issued more IPv4 address space than ARIN

“The five RIRs saw an increase of nearly 30% in the amount of IPv6 address space allocated to members in 2009, an encouraging sign that more organizations are preparing for the transition,” Pawlik remarked. “With limited IPv4 addresses remaining, deployment of IPv6 is critical to the continued development of the Internet.”

The RIRs, working individually and collectively as the NRO, have actively promoted IPv6 deployment for several years through grassroots activities, speaking opportunities, technical training, conferences, government liaison and media outreach.