APNIC 56 Policy & Governance Update

September 22, 2023

APNIC 56 took place over two weeks at the start of September in Kyoto, Japan. Five proposals were scheduled for the meeting.

prop-148 Leasing of Resources is not Acceptable – Did not reach consensus, abandoned.

This proposed that leasing IPv4 addresses is not acceptable without defining the term, “leasing.” It would then have required APNIC to take action against anyone leasing their addresses. They would either have to reclaim the space or force the recipient to rejustify it. Commenters were concerned about the cost of implementation. The chairs told the proposers to abandon the proposal, instead of coming up with a sixth version, as there was not enough support.

prop-152 Reduce the IPv4 delegation from /23 to /24 – Did not reach consensus

This proposal sought to make some IPv4 space available at low cost for more new entrants to the market. One speaker worried that by reducing the allocation size APNIC would limit their members. In contrast, another stated that it would help new businesses start and grow. The market could provide any additional space they need. There was a lack of support, so the proposal was abandoned.

prop-153 Proposed changes to PDP – Did not reach consensus

This proposal came from the chair and was intended to avoid problems with proposals getting agenda time when they arrive after the deadline. Time-zone issues, exacerbated by misunderstanding the language of the policy process, have caused problems in the past. This proposal set the deadline as five weeks before the meeting, with proposals that miss the deadline not getting agenda time. These proposals would be dropped and have to be resubmitted. Some argued that five weeks was too long. Proposals are translated and discussed in local communities before APNIC meetings. But speakers from Japan indicated that three weeks would be enough time. There was a lack of support so the proposal was abandoned.

prop-154 Resizing of IPv4 assignment for the IXPs – Did not reach consensus –

This proposal is similar to RIPE’s 2023-01. The idea was to make space available for more Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) – the interconnection facilities where networks meet and exchange traffic with each other. It would do this by assigning smaller networks. Most IXPs use less than half of the space assigned to them, so this seemed like a good way of making space available for more IXPs. But APNIC staff noted that they do not maintain a separate reserved pool of IPv4 space for IXPs. IXPs’ assignments come from the same pool as everyone else. There was a lack of support so the proposal was abandoned.

prop-155 IPv6 PI assignment for associate members – Reached consensus      

This proposal would made it easier for APNIC associate members to get their own block of IPv6 addresses. As long as the member plans to use the addresses within a year, they would qualify for a block even if they had no IPv4 address space. Speakers discussed whether the addresses could be transferred. The proposers clarified that the addresses could not be transferred apart from through a Merger and Acquisition process. The proposal was supported and achieved consensus. APNIC’s implementation is dependent on the APNIC EC changing the Tiers and Voting Rights for APNIC Members.

In Addition

There were also resolutions to the APNIC By-laws that were to be voted on in a special members’ meeting. A quarter of APNIC’s 9,700 members voted. They overwhelmingly supported the following five changes. In the future:

• Nominees for the Executive Council must come from the region.
• Nominees in each election must all come from different countries.
• Nominees must not work for another RIR, impact APNIC’s ability to perform its job if elected, or be engaged in litigation against APNIC.
• Elected Executive Council members must each come from a different organization.
• A new Electoral Committee must oversee elections and ensure all nominees are eligible to serve.