Part 1: Policy Environment

1.0. Introduction

2.0. Definitions

3.0. Policy framework

4.0. Resource License

5.0. Resource Management

Part 2: IPv4 Policy

6.0. Initial IPv4 delegations

7.0. Subsequent IPv4 delegations

Part 3: IPv6 Policy

8.0. IPv6 allocations

9.0. IPv6 assignments

Part 4: ASN Policy

10.0. ASN assignments

Part 5: Transfer Policy

11.0. IPv4 Transfers

12.0. ASN Transfers

13.0. IPv6 Transfers

14.0. Mergers & Acquisitions

15. Appendix A: HD-Ratio

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Part 1: Policy Environment

1.0. Introduction

The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for the Asia Pacific. It is responsible for the regional distribution of public Internet address space and related resources, including Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) address space, Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) address space, and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs). APNIC also coordinates the development and implementation of policies to manage those resources.

This document outlines the overall principals and goals of Internet number resource distribution. It also details specific policies for the distribution and management of these resources in the Asia Pacific region.

The policies and definitions described in this document were developed by the Internet community of the Asia Pacific region through a consensus process facilitated by APNIC. The policies are to be implemented by APNIC, by National Internet Registries (NIRs), and by Local Internet Registries (LIRs) throughout the region.

1.1. Scope

This document describes policies for the responsible management of global Internet number resources in the Asia Pacific region.

Specifically, this document focuses on policies relating to:

• The delegation of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) address space.
• The allocation and assignment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) address space.
• The assignment of Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs).

1.1.1. Additional guidelines and policies

This document should be read in conjunction with other APNIC documents, policies, and guidelines; including those dealing with membership and fees, as these documents may provide additional operational guidance, or may impose additional requirements on resource holders.

In addition to the eligibility criteria described in this document, APNIC may publish other information relating to Internet number resources, including:

• further descriptions of evaluation procedures.
• summaries of the best current practices that account holders requesting resources will generally be expected to adopt; and
• other information that may assist account holders to request resources.

This document does not provide specific details of request evaluation by APNIC, or of expectations relating to specific technologies. Such details are dependent on technological advances and may change frequently. Therefore, to assist account holders to request resources, APNIC publishes separate guideline documents relating to specific technologies or techniques as required.

These guidelines are developed within the APNIC community and will be consistent with the goals and policies described in this document.

1.1.2. Private address space

This document does not describe specific addressing policies related to multicast or private address space. The use of private address space may be appropriate for addressing networks where there are no technical requirements for the use of public address space. In general, private address space should be used for networks not directly connected to the Internet.

1.2. Hierarchy of resource distribution

IP addresses and ASNs are distributed in accordance with the hierarchical structure initially described in RFC7020 and represented simply as this diagram.

[Figure 1: Diagram of distribution hierarchy]

In this hierarchy, IANA allocates address space to APNIC, to be redistributed throughout the Asia Pacific region. APNIC allocates address space to Internet Registries (IRs) and delegates to them the authority to make assignments and allocations. In some cases, APNIC assigns address space to end users. National and Local IRs allocate and assign address space to their account holders under the guidance of APNIC and in accordance with the relevant policies and principals described in this document.

2.0. Definitions

The following terms and definitions are used in APNIC documents.

2.1. Address space

In this document, address space means public unicast IP address ranges, which include IP version 4 (IPv4) and IP version 6 (IPv6).

2.1.1. Delegated address space

APNIC “delegates” addresses to its account holders. These delegations can be for use on their own infrastructure (an “assignment”) or for subsequent delegation by the requestors to its customers (an “allocation”).

2.1.2. Allocated address space

Allocated address space is address space that is distributed to IRs or other account holders for the purpose of subsequent distribution by them.

2.1.3. Assigned address space

Assigned address space is address space that is delegated to an LIR, or end-user, for exclusive use within the Internet infrastructure they operate.

2.2. Autonomous System (AS)

An Autonomous System (AS) is a connected group of one or more IP prefixes run by one or more network operators under a single and clearly defined routing policy.

2.2.1. Autonomous System Number (ASN)

An Autonomous System Number (ASN) is a unique two- or four-byte number associated with an AS. The ASN is used as an identifier to allow the AS to exchange dynamic routing information with other Autonomous Systems.

2.3. Multihomed

Multihoming is a way of connecting an autonomous network to the public Internet through more than one AS.

2.4. Usage rate

Usage rate is the rate at which the LIR made delegations from relevant past address space, including Historical delegations.

2.5. Utilization

Utilization is a measure of IPv6 address usage where “utilization” is only measured in terms of the bits to the left of the /56 boundary. In other words, utilization refers to the delegation of /56s to end sites, and not the number of addresses assigned within individual /56s at those end sites.

2.5.1. HD-Ratio

The HD-Ratio is a way of measuring the efficiency of address assignment [RFC 3194]. It is an adaptation of the H-Ratio originally defined in [RFC1715] and is expressed as follows:

Log (number of allocated objects)

HD = -------------------------------------------------------------

Log (maximum number of allocatable objects)

where (in the case of this document) the objects are IPv6 site addresses (/56s) assigned from an IPv6 prefix of a given size.

2.6. End-site

An end site is defined as the location of an end-user who has a business or legal relationship (same or associated entities) with a service provider that involves:

• that service provider assigning address space to the end-user location
• that service provider providing transit service for the end-user location to other sites
• that service provider carrying the end-user’s location traffic
• that service provider advertising an aggregate prefix route that contains the end-user’s location assignment

2.7. End-user

Service subscriber or customer of an LIR.

2.8. aut-num object

An aut-num object is an object in the Whois database used to register ASN assignment details. For the purposes of this document, aut-num object also refers to the ASN registration objects in NIR databases.

2.9. Routing policy

The routing policy of an AS is a description of how network prefixes are exchanged between that AS and other Autonomous Systems.

2.10. Transfers

Resource transfers involve the re-allocation of current address blocks (or ASNs), or the re-allocation of historical resources claimed and transferred to an APNIC account holder.

2.10.1. Counterpart RIR

A counterpart RIR is the Regional Internet Registry that APNIC transfers resources to, or from, in an inter-RIR transfer.

2.10.2. Source

The source in a resource transfer is the organization which, prior to the transfer, is the legitimate holder of the resources to be transferred. Where the source is in the APNIC region, the source must be a current APNIC account holder, except in the case of an Historical resource transfer. Where the source is from another RIR region, it must be that RIR’s equivalent to the “Source” as defined here.

2.10.3. Recipient

The recipient in a resource transfer is the organization which, after the transfer is completed, will be the legitimate holder of the resources to be transferred. Where the recipient is in the APNIC region, the recipient must be a current APNIC account holder. Where the recipient is from another RIR region, it must be that RIR’s equivalent to the “Recipient” as defined here.

3.0. Policy framework

IP address space and other number resources are public resources which must be managed in a prudent manner with regards to the long-term interests of the Internet. Responsible management involves balancing a set of sometimes competing goals. The following are the goals relevant to Internet number policy.

This document is intended to help IRs perform their role in consistent and equitable ways. IRs must maintain full documentation of and transparency within the decision-making process.

3.1. Goals of resource management

The goals described here were formulated by the Internet community and reflect the mutual interest of all members of that community in ensuring that the Internet can function and grow to the maximum extent possible.

It is APNIC’s primary duty, as a custodian of a public resource, to ensure these goals are met within the Asia Pacific region. APNIC does this by providing guidance and leadership in developing and implementing responsible policies and practices.

It is the responsibility of every NIR and LIR to also ensure these goals are met within their respective regions and communities.

3.1.1. Uniqueness

Every assignment and allocation of address space must be guaranteed as globally unique. This is an absolute requirement for ensuring that every public host on the Internet can be uniquely identified.

3.1.2. Registration

All assignments and allocations made directly by APNIC to its account holders must be registered in a publicly accessible database. This is necessary to ensure uniqueness and to provide information for Internet troubleshooting at all levels, ranging from all RIRs and IRs to end-users.

It also reflects the expectation of the Internet community that custodians of these public resources should be identifiable. The goal of registration should be applied within the context of reasonable privacy considerations and applicable laws. Account holders that receive an allocation from APNIC can choose whether their customer assignment registrations should be publicly available are not.

If the account holder does not indicate a choice, or chooses to hide its customer assignment registrations, then those records will not be visible in the public Whois database. Whois queries on these records will return details of the allocation.

3.1.3. Aggregation

Address policies should seek to avoid fragmentation of address ranges. Wherever possible, address space should be distributed in a hierarchical manner, according to the topology of network infrastructure. This is necessary to permit the aggregation of routing information by network operators, and to limit the expansion of Internet routing tables.

This goal is particularly important in IPv6 addressing, where the size of the total address pool creates significant implications for both internal and external routing.

It is a condition of all delegations made under initial or subsequent LIR delegation criteria, that the address space is aggregated by the LIR within a minimum number of routes announcements (preferably one).

LIRs must only delegate addresses to customers who will be using those addresses in relation to network connectivity services provided by the LIR.

LIRs are expected to enter into agreements with their customers specifying that the end-user will hold the addresses only for so long as the end-user remains a customer of that LIR. Such agreements should also be consistent with the license under which the address space is being used by the LIR.

3.1.4. Contiguous delegations

RIRs should apply practices that maximize the potential for subsequent allocations to be made contiguous with past allocations currently held. However, there can be no guarantee of contiguous allocation.

APNIC will attempt to make any subsequent delegations contiguous with previous delegations but cannot guarantee that this will be possible.

3.1.5. Conservation

To maximize the lifetime of the available resource, address space must be distributed according to actual need and for immediate use. Stockpiling address space and maintaining reservations are contrary to this goal. Conservation also implies efficiency. Therefore, all users of address space should adopt techniques such as Variable Length Subnet Masking (VLSM) and appropriate technologies that ensure the address space is not used wastefully.

Although IPv6 provides an extremely large pool of address space, address policies should avoid unnecessarily wasteful practices.

Requests for address space should be supported by appropriate documentation and stockpiling of unused IPv6 addresses should also be avoided.

3.1.6. Fairness

All policies and practices relating to the use of public address space should apply fairly and equitably to all existing and potential members of the Internet community, regardless of their location, nationality, size, or any other factor.

3.1.7. Minimized Overhead

It is desirable to minimize the overhead associated with obtaining address space. Overhead includes the need to go back to RIRs for additional space too frequently. There is overhead associated with managing address space that grows through a number of small successive incremental expansions rather than through fewer, but larger, expansions

3.2. Policy Environment

Apart from the goals described above, other factors influence the APNIC policy environment. These other factors include the expectations of the Internet community, current administrative structures, and technological constraints.

The policy environment may change quickly or in unpredictable ways, so APNIC, on behalf of its account holders, must monitor any changes and communicate any policy implications.

This section describes the factors in the current operating environment that has been most important in determining current APNIC policies.

3.2.1. Routability

There is no guarantee that any address allocation or assignment will be globally routable.

The routability of address space throughout the Internet can never be guaranteed by any single account holder. However, IRs must apply procedures that reduce the possibility of fragmented address space which may lead to a loss of routability.

To reduce the number of globally advertised routes, network operators may implement route filtering policies based on prefix length. As a result, small portable assignments are the most likely to suffer routability problems. Therefore, APNIC policies encourage those seeking address space to request from upstream providers rather than from APNIC directly.

The responsible management of ASNs is also necessary to help limit the expansion of global routing tables. Aggregating contiguous IP address prefixes within single Autonomous Systems helps to minimize the number of routes announced to the global Internet.

3.2.2. Internet growth rates

Early strategies for distributing address space did not anticipate the rapid growth of the Internet and the scaling problems that followed, affecting both the amount of address space available and routing. Therefore, APNIC policies take account of past experience and seek to manage address space in a way that will maximize future scaling of the Internet.

3.2.3. Collective responsibility

APNIC shares with its account holders and their customers a collective responsibility to ensure manageable and scalable Internet growth and to make decisions consistent with the goals described here. Therefore, APNIC policies and procedures are developed by APNIC account holders and the broader Internet community as a whole, in the common interest of those communities.

In implementing policies, APNIC and its account holders rely on an implicit trust that delegated responsibilities are carried out in good faith. Specifically, APNIC must trust that the information gathered from account holders during the request process is genuine and accurate.

3.2.4. Impartiality

APNIC represents the interests of the Internet community in general and the Internet community of the Asia Pacific region in particular. Therefore, APNIC must apply its policies fairly and equitably, without regard to an account holder’s size, geographic location, or any other factor.

3.2.5. Varying levels of expertise

Different IRs and end-users have varying levels of experience and expertise. APNIC policies allow for varying levels of assistance and monitoring, appropriate to ensure a consistent approach to address space management throughout the Asia Pacific Internet community.

3.2.6. Address ownership

The Internet community regards address space as a scarce, public resource that should only be distributed according to demonstrated need. ISPs and other APNIC account holders that use address space are considered “custodians” rather than “owners” of the resource. As address space becomes more scarce, address space management policies may be adjusted by the community.

3.2.7. Address stockpiling

Stockpiling addresses is harmful to the goals of conservation and fairness. APNIC policies must prevent stockpiling and ensure efficient deployment of address space on the basis of immediate demonstrated need.

3.2.8. Reservations not supported

When an LIR wants to delegate address space for customers, it must use any address space it currently holds. When evaluating address requests, reserved address space is not considered to be delegated.

3.2.9. Evaluations to be based on best practice

APNIC should ensure that address space holders adopt current best practice in the management of the resources they use. If appropriate technologies exist for improved management of address space in particular situations, the community expects that those technologies should be used. APNIC consults with its account holders and the broader Internet community to define and develop current best practice recommendations relating to Internet addressing technologies and techniques.

3.2.10. Minimum practical delegation

Because the goals of aggregation and conservation conflict, it is necessary to apply a minimum practical size for address space delegation. This minimum size may be reviewed from time to time, as technologies and administrative conditions evolve.

3.2.11. Slow start mechanism

APNIC and NIRs apply a slow start mechanism to all new LIRs. The slow start is applied to prevent delegations of large blocks of address space that may then remain substantially unused.

3.2.11.1. Exceptions to slow start

In exceptional circumstances, an LIR may receive a greater initial delegation if it can demonstrate that its immediate need for address space exceeds the standard slow start delegation.

The documentation required to justify an exception to the slow start may include (but is not limited to):

• Receipts for the purchase of equipment, Purchase Orders, or
• Signed project contracts indicating the immediate network requirements to be met by the LIR.

3.3. Applicants seeking address space from multiple IRs

Applicants must obtain their address space from only one IR at a time. Applicants requesting address space from any IR must declare all the address space they currently hold, regardless of the source. Applicants making concurrent requests to more than one IR must declare the details of all of those requests.

In certain circumstances (for example, where an applicant network is multihomed), strong technical reasons may justify an applicant receiving address space from more than one source.

For the purposes of this section, a parent organization and its subsidiaries are considered to be a single organization. Exceptions may arise in cases where the parts of the organization:

• Are separate legal entities,
• Maintain fully independent network infrastructures and are routed under different ASNs, or
• Can otherwise demonstrate a justified need to obtain address space from more than one IR.

4.0. Resource License

It is contrary to the goals of this document and is not in the interests of the Internet community as a whole, for Internet number resources to be considered freehold property.

Neither delegation nor registration confers ownership of resources. Account holders that use them are considered “custodians” rather than “owners” of the resource and are not entitled to sell or otherwise transfer that resource to other parties outside the provisions in this document.

Internet resources are regarded as public resources that should only be distributed according to demonstrated need.

The policies in this document are based upon the understanding that globally unique unicast address space is licensed for use rather than owned.

4.1. License Renewal

Specifically, APNIC will delegate Internet resources on a ‘license’ basis, with licenses subject to renewal on a periodic basis (normally one year).

The granting of a license is subject to specific conditions as described in the APNIC membership agreements, service agreements, and other relevant APNIC documents, at the start or renewal of the license.

IRs will generally renew licenses automatically, provided account holders are making a good-faith effort at meeting the criteria under which they qualified for, or were granted an allocation or assignment.

Licenses to account holders shall be renewable on the following conditions:

• The original basis of the delegation remains valid, and
• That address space is properly registered at the time of renewal.

4.1.1. Review

In those cases where an account holder is not using the address space as intended or is showing bad faith in following through on the associated obligation, IRs reserve the right to not renew the license. However, individual licenses shall only be subject to review if the relevant IR has reason to believe that the existing license terms are no longer being complied with. IRs may implement their own procedures for the review of existing licenses as they see fit.

When a license is renewed, the new license will be evaluated and governed subject to all policies and license conditions effective at the time of renewal. These may differ from those in place at the time of the original delegation, provided that a minimum notice period of one year is given of any substantial changes. Substantial changes to license conditions are subject to the consensus of APNIC Members, in accordance with the APNIC Document Editorial Policy.

4.1.2. Validity of delegations

A resource delegation is valid only while the original criteria on which it was made remains valid. If a delegation becomes invalid, then the resource must be returned to the appropriate IR.

An allocation or assignment becomes invalid if it is:

• Made for a specific purpose that no longer exists, or
• Based on information that is later found to be false or incomplete.

4.2. Closure and recovery

If an LIR holding APNIC address space ceases to provide Internet connectivity services, all of its address space must be returned to APNIC. It is the responsibility of the LIR (or any liquidator or administrator appointed to wind up the account holder’s business) to advise all of its customers that address space will be returned to APNIC, and that renumbering into new address space will be necessary.

In the case that a new LIR takes over the business or infrastructure of the closed LIR, the existing address space may be transferred to the new LIR, however such a transfer is subject to re-examination by APNIC and may be treated as a new address request process.

4.3. Claiming and re-delegating historical resources

Historical resources that are no longer published in the APNIC Whois Database and are placed in reserved status because of EC resolution 2021-09 of 22 February 2021, can be claimed by the custodians within 12 months of the date they were marked as reserved.

After 12 months, these resources will be placed in the free pool for re-delegation.

Any historical resources marked as reserved and/or reclaimed by APNIC due to account closures will lose their historical status and become current resources for re-delegation.

5.0. Resource Management

All NIRs and LIRs that receive address space from APNIC (either directly or indirectly) must adopt delegation policies that are consistent with the policies described in this document.

NIRs and LIRs must ensure that address space for which they are responsible is only allocated or assigned subject to agreements consistent with the license provisions in this document.

Also, NIRs must, wherever possible, apply slow start policies to their own account holders in a manner consistent with the way APNIC applies such policies.

5.1. How APNIC manages address space

5.1.1. Reservation for future uses

A /16 of IPv4 address space will be held in reserve for future uses, as yet unforeseen. If the reserved /16 remains unused by the time the remaining available space has been delegated, the /16 will be returned to the APNIC pool for distribution under the policies described in this document.

5.1.2. Sparse allocation framework

APNIC will document the sparse allocation algorithm framework used to select IPv6 address blocks for delegation, in document apnic-114: APNIC guidelines for IPv6 allocation and assignment requests. This document is available at the following URL:

http://www.apnic.net/ipv6-guidelines

5.1.3. IPv4 addresses returned to APNIC

Any IPv4 resources received by APNIC will be placed into the APNIC IPv4 pool for delegation under the policies described in this document. This placement applies to any IPv4 addresses APNIC receives from IANA and/or holders of addresses in the APNIC Whois Database, subject to any future global policy for the redistribution of addresses received by IANA from the RIRs.

5.1.4. Preventing the Use of APNIC Address Space not delegated

APNIC Address Space (IPv4 or IPv6) not delegated should not be publicly advertised by any Autonomous System. To prevent its use, APNIC will create RPKI ROAs with origin AS0 (AS zero) for all address space (marked as “Available” and “Reserved” in the delegated-apnic-extended-latest stats file) for which it is the current administrator.

While any current account holder can create AS0 ROA for the resources they have under their account administration, only APNIC has the authority to create AS0 ROAs for APNIC address space not yet delegated to an account holder. When APNIC delegates address space to an account holder, APNIC will remove the prefix from the AS0 ROA.

5.2. LIR address space management

LIRs may delegate address space to their customers subject to the following provisions.

5.2.1. IPv4 address usage estimates

Requests for delegations must be supported by usage estimates based on immediate and projected future need. These requests must be accompanied by documentation that supports the estimates. The estimates should be made for the following periods:

• Immediately,
• Within one year, and
• Within two years

APNIC recommends that, as a general guideline, applicants should base their resource requests on the assumption that 25% of the address space will be used immediately and 50% will be used within one year.

The end-user must provide documentation that supports its one-year usage estimate. If it is not possible for the end-user to estimate confidently what the two-year usage rate will be, then APNIC or the NIR may make a delegation that will be sufficient for the one-year needs only.

5.2.2. IPv4 Delegations to downstream IRs

LIRs may delegate address space to their downstream customers, which are operating networks, such as ISPs, subject to the following conditions:

• Delegations are non-portable and must be returned to the LIR if the downstream customer ceases to receive connectivity from the LIR.
• The downstream customer is not permitted to further allocate the address space.

5.2.2.1. Effect of delegation to downstream IRs on upstream LIR’s usage rate

For the purposes of evaluating the LIR’s usage rate, address space delegated to downstream LIRs will be considered as “used”. However, APNIC will give careful consideration to the registration of delegations made by the downstream LIR to their customers and may request supporting documentation as necessary.

5.2.3. Policies for LIR IPv6 allocation and assignment

5.2.3.1. LIR-to-ISP allocation

There is no specific policy for an LIR to allocate address space to subordinate ISPs. Each LIR may develop its own policy for subordinate ISPs to encourage optimum utilization of the total address block allocated to the LIR. However, all /48 assignments to end sites are required to be registered either by the LIR or its subordinate ISPs in such a way that the RIR/NIR can properly evaluate the HD-Ratio when a subsequent allocation becomes necessary.

5.2.3.2. Assignment address space size

LIRs must make IPv6 assignments in accordance with the following provisions.

End-users are assigned an end site assignment from their LIR or ISP. The size of the assignment is a local decision for the LIR or ISP to make, using a value of “n” x /64.

RIRs/NIRs are not concerned about which address size an LIR/ISP actually assigns. Accordingly, RIRs/NIRs will not request the detailed information on IPv6 user networks as they do in IPv4, except for the cases described in Section 8.2.1. and for the purposes of measuring utilization as defined in this document.

5.2.3.3. Assignment of multiple /48s to a single end site

Assignment larger than /48 (shorter prefix) or additional assignments exceeding a total of /48 must be made based on address usage, or because of different routing requirements exist for additional assignments.

In case of a review or when making a request for a subsequent allocation, the LIR must be able to present documentation justifying the need for assignments shorter than a /48 to a single end site.

5.3. Registration requirements

5.3.1. Requirements for Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) and Addresses

IRs are responsible for promptly and accurately registering their ASN and address space use with APNIC as follows:

• All ASNs assigned must be publicly registered in the APNIC, or relevant NIR, Whois database, for which APNIC or NIR will create the aut-num object.
• All the attributes of the aut-num object, must be registered in accordance with APNIC or NIR Whois database documentation.
• All delegations from APNIC to the IR must be registered.
• All delegations to downstream IRs must be registered.
• Delegations made to networks greater than a /30 for IPv4 and /48 for IPv6 must be registered.
• Delegations made to networks of a /30 for IPv4 and /48 for IPv6 or less may be registered, at the discretion of the IR and the network administrator.
• Delegations to hosts may be registered, at the discretion of the IR and the end-user.

IRs can choose whether or not to designate this information “public”. Customer registration details that are not designated “public” will not be generally available via the APNIC Whois database. The database record will instead direct specific Whois enquiries to the IR concerned.

5.3.2. Updating registration details

IRs must update their registration records and relevant objects when any of the registration information changes. This is the responsibility of the IR concerned. However, this responsibility may be formally assigned to the end-user as a condition of the original delegation.

Further, APNIC recommends that the routing policy of the AS is registered for each ASN assigned.

5.3.3. Registering Contact Persons

Administrative and technical contact persons must be registered.

The registered administrative contact (“admin-c”) must be someone who is physically located at the site of the network, subject to the following exceptions:

• For residential networks or users, the IR’s technical contact may be registered as the admin-c.
• For networks in exceptional circumstances that make it impractical to maintain an on-site administrative contact, an off-site person may be registered as the admin-c.

The technical contact (“tech-c”) need not be physically located at the site of the network but must be a person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the network.

In addition, it is mandatory to register an Incident Response Team (IRT) object for each resource record in the APNIC Whois Database. Contact addresses listed in the IRT object (email, abuse-mailbox attributes) must be regularly monitored and any abuse complaints sent to these contacts must be responded to promptly to resolve the complaints.

APNIC will validate IRT contacts periodically or every six (6) months to ensure they are accurate and contactable. Account holders are required to complete these validation checks within fifteen (15) days of receiving the validation check email from APNIC. If the IRT contacts fail the validation, APNIC will mark the IRT object invalid in the APNIC Whois Database and follow up according to relevant policies and procedures. If validation still fails after thirty (30) days, the account holder will have limited access to MyAPNIC until their IRT contacts are validated.

5.4. Reverse lookup

5.4.1. Responsibility to maintain IPv4 in-addr.arpa records

LIRs should maintain in-addr.arpa resource records for their customers’ networks. If a network is not specifically associated with an LIR, then the in-addra.arpa records should be maintained by either the appropriate NIR or APNIC.

5.4.2. IPv6 reverse lookup

When an RIR/NIR delegates IPv6 address space to an account holder, it also delegates the responsibility to manage the reverse lookup zone that corresponds to the allocated IPv6 address space. Each account holder should properly manage its reverse lookup zone. When making an address assignment, the account holder must delegate to an assignee, upon request, the responsibility to manage the reverse lookup zone that corresponds to the assigned address.

5.5. Managing Historical resources

Historical resources were often delegated to organizations in a policy environment quite different to those in use today. Historical resource holders should be aware of the current goals of Internet resource management as outlined in this document.

The following policies specifically apply to Historical resources.

5.5.1. Utilization of Historical IPv4 address space

Utilization of Historical IPv4 address space is considered when any organization holding Historical IPv4 addresses requests more IPv4 from APNIC.

5.5.2. Protecting Historical resource records in the APNIC Whois Database

APNIC will protect all registrations of Historical Internet resources with the APNIC-HM maintainer, a practice consistent with the management of current resources.

To ensure integrity of information, APNIC will not update historical information in the APNIC Whois Database until the resource holder demonstrates the organization’s right to the resources and enters a formal agreement with APNIC either as a member account or Non-Member account.

5.5.3. Updating Historical resource registrations

Detailed information on how to request an update to a historical Internet resource registration is available on the historical resource page of the APNIC website.

https://help.apnic.net/s/article/Historical-resources

Please note that resource holders will not be able to update registration information if they fail to pay the fees associated with their member account or Non-Member account.

Historical resource holders with a current account have access to MyAPNIC, which allows account holders to manage their resources and account information via a secure website.

5.5.4. Policies applicable to updated Historical resources

Historical Internet resources that are updated under this policy are subject to the registration requirements as specified above.

5.6. General requirements for requests

In order to properly evaluate resource requests, APNIC must carefully examine all relevant documentation relating to the networks in question. Such documentation may include network engineering plans, sub-netting plans, descriptions of network topology, and descriptions of the network routing plans.

Further, based on request the following information may be requested such as equipment invoices and purchase orders, any address space currently held by that applicant (including Historical address space), previous assignments made by that applicant (including assignments made from Historical address allocations), and the intended use for the address space requested.

All documentation should conform to a consistent standard and any estimates and predictions that are documented must be realistic and justifiable.

5.6.1. Security and confidentiality

The documentation, which supports address space requests, involves information that may be highly confidential to the commercial and infrastructure operations of all applicants and their customers. Therefore, APNIC will reflect the trust implicit in its position by:

• applying and enforcing systems, practices, and procedures that protect the confidential information of its applicants and their customers, and
• ensuring the employment of all staff, or agents, is based upon an explicit condition of confidentiality regarding such information.

APNIC provides for authorization and verification mechanisms within the APNIC Whois Database. It is the responsibility of each IR, or end-user, to apply these mechanisms.

5.6.2. Equitable processing of requests

APNIC will only process requests that have been completely and properly documented. If the documentation contains errors or omissions, APNIC will advise the applicant as soon as possible.

APNIC may also request the applicant to provide further information or clarify relevant issues that are not clear in the initial request.

Once the errors and omissions are rectified, or the additional questions answered, APNIC will deal with the request in the strict order in which it receives proper documentation.

APNIC will make all reasonable efforts to maintain a consistent and reliable level of service with respect to processing of requests and will maintain a request tracking system for efficient request management.

To provide fair treatment for all applicants, APNIC will not, under any circumstance, provide any special treatment or make exceptions to the standard order of request processing.

5.7. Experimental allocations policy

This Section describes the APNIC policies which apply to requests for Internet resource allocations that are to be used for experimental purposes.

5.7.1. Introduction

As the Internet continues to expand and evolve, there is an increased need for technologies and practices to be refined and standardized.

To achieve this, it is often necessary to experiment with proposed technologies to evaluate their interaction with the installed base of the Internet. For a small proportion of these experimental activities, it may be necessary to allocate or assign Internet resources on a temporary basis.

5.7.1.1. Scope and goal

This section describes policies for the responsible management of global Internet resources in the Asia Pacific region, specifically relating to the temporary allocation and assignment of Internet resources for experimental purposes.

The goal of this policy is to provide fair access to Internet resources for genuine researchers, to encourage development of new technologies and refinement of standards.

5.7.2. Allocations for experimental purposes

APNIC will allocate public Internet resources to be used for experimental purposes. These experimental allocations are subject to the eligibility criteria, conditions, and restrictions described below. An experiment is eligible for an allocation if it meets the criteria described in either Section 5.7.2.1 or Section 5.2.7.2 below.

On 9 July 2022, APNIC reserved 59.191.232.0/21 IPv4 address space for experimental allocations. This address space will be unreserved and put back in the general pool after five years for delegation to account holders as per IPv4 policy in Section 6.0 below.

5.7.2.1. Publication of an experimental RFC

Experiments are eligible for allocations if they are described in an RFC designated by the IETF as “Experimental”. The requestors must specifically refer to this RFC, describe their participation in the experiment, and provide a summary of the experiment which details their requirement for Internet resources.

5.7.2.2. Alternative publication approved by APNIC

Experiments may be eligible for an allocation if they are described in a document that is available free of charge and publicly accessible in a forum approved by APNIC.

Under this criterion, APNIC has the sole discretion to determine whether such an experiment is eligible. To do so, APNIC may liaise with IETF working groups, other standards bodies, RIRs, or Internet experts to evaluate the status of the document, the validity of the experiment it describes, and the Internet resource requirements of the experiment.

The requestors must specifically refer to the published document, describe their participation in the experiment, and provide a summary of the experiment which details their requirement for Internet resources.

5.7.3. Experimental allocations

5.7.3.1. Public disclosure of experiment

It is a condition for experimental allocations that all material details of the experiments are published free of charge and without any constraints on their disclosure or use. The details to be published include the objectives of the experiment, the practices, and any other relevant details. At the completion of the experiment, the results must be published under the same terms.

To this extent, the terms of APNIC’s regular non-disclosure provisions are specifically excluded from these requests. Although APNIC may consider requests for certain aspects of a project to be subject to a non-disclosure agreement, it will not agree to any restrictions on the public benefit to be gained from any experiments.

APNIC may publish and maintain public archives of all experiments which receive allocations under this policy.

5.7.3.2. Size of IP allocations

In the case of experimental allocations of IP addresses, the allocation size will be consistent with APNIC’s standard minimum allocation size, unless the nature of the experiment specifically requires an allocation of a different size.

5.7.3.3. APNIC input on proposed experiment

During the request process, APNIC may comment on the objectives of the experiment with regards to the requested amount of numbering resources. APNIC may also propose changes to the size of the requested allocation.

If the requestor does not agree with the proposed changes, then APNIC will seek advice from the IETF, or another relevant standards body involved in publishing the experiment.

5.7.3.4. Duration of allocation licenses

APNIC will make experimental allocations on a temporary license basis. Licenses to use the resources will be valid for one year.

5.7.3.5. Extension of license

At the end of the initial license period, the holder of the resources may apply to have the license extended, to meet the objectives of the experiment, as publicly documented.

It is intended that the majority of the experiments to be considered under this policy will be concluded without extension of the original license.

5.7.4. Registration

All experimental allocations will be registered in the APNIC Whois Database. The registration details will indicate the temporary nature of these allocations.

5.7.4.1. Restriction on commercial or undocumented uses

APNIC may revoke an experimental allocation if the resources are being used for commercial purposes or are being used for any activities not documented in the original request.

5.7.5. Fees for experimental allocations

Experimental allocations are available to APNIC account holders only.

New applicants wishing to receive experimental allocation will need to become an APNIC account holder. If you are already a member of APNIC, then you do not have to pay anything extra for an experimental allocation. Also, the experimental allocation will not be counted in calculating the account holder’s membership tier.

Part 2: IPv4 Policy

6.0. Initial IPv4 delegations

6.1. Minimum and maximum IPv4 delegations

The current minimum delegation size for IPv4 is a /24 (256 addresses).

Since Thursday, 28 February 2019, each APNIC account holder is only eligible to receive IPv4 address delegations totalling a maximum /23 from the APNIC 103/8 IPv4 address pool.

On Tuesday, 2 July 2019, the waiting list for non-103/8 resources was abolished and recovered non-103/8 resources will be considered the same as 103/8 addresses in the remaining IPv4 pool for delegations according to the current policy.

Note: A waiting list will be created once APNIC runs out of all IPv4 addresses. Any requests received from the new applicants for IPv4 resources will be put on this waiting list on a first come first request. APNIC will maintain one IPv4 pool for all recovered as well as IANA delegated address space and this pool will be used to provide IPv4 resources to the waiting list requests.

To receive delegations from this pool, they must demonstrate their eligibility by meeting the criteria specified below.

6.2. IPv4 request criteria

To qualify for an IPv4 address delegation from APNIC, requestors must demonstrate their eligibility under one of the following four criteria.

• IPv4 for LIRs
• IPv4 for multihoming
• IPv4 for critical infrastructure
• IPv4 for Internet Exchange Points

6.2.1. IPv4 for LIRs

To be eligible for an initial IPv4 delegation, an LIR must:

• Have used a /24 from their upstream provider or demonstrate an immediate need for a /24,
• Have complied with applicable policies in managing all address space previously delegated to it (including Historical delegations), and
• Demonstrate a detailed plan for use of at least a /23 within a year

6.2.2. IPv4 for multihoming

An applicant is eligible to receive an IPv4 delegation if:

• currently multihomed, or
• currently using at least, a /24 from its upstream provider and intends to be multihomed, or
• intends to be multihomed, and advertise the prefixes within 6 months

Applicants requesting a delegation under these terms must demonstrate that they are able to use 25% of the requested addresses immediately and 50% within one year.

6.2.3. IPv4 for critical infrastructure

The following critical infrastructure networks, if operating in the Asia Pacific region, are eligible to receive a delegation:

• Root domain name system (DNS) server
• Global top-level domain (gTLD) nameservers
• Country code TLD (ccTLDs) nameservers
• IANA
• Regional Internet Registry (RIRs), and
• National Internet Registry (NIRs)

Delegations to critical infrastructure are available only to the actual operators of the network infrastructure performing such functions. Registrar organizations that do not actually host the network housing the registry infrastructure will not be eligible under this policy.

6.2.4. IPv4 for Internet Exchange Points

Internet Exchange Points (IXP) are eligible to receive a delegation from APNIC to be used exclusively to connect the IXP participant devices to the Exchange Point.

Global routability of the delegation is left to the discretion of the IXP and its participants.

7.0. Subsequent IPv4 delegations

After receiving an initial LIR delegation, all subsequent delegations will depend on the following:

• The LIR’s verified usage rate (which is the rate at which the LIR made delegations from relevant past address space, including Historical delegations)
• Their documented plans for address space, and
• Their degree of compliance with APNIC policies with respect to relevant past delegations.

Based on these factors, APNIC and NIRs will delegate address space to meet the LIR’s estimated needs for a period up to one year up to the maximum allowed delegation under Section 6.1.

If APNIC or the NIR make a delegation based on a period of less than one year, then they must inform the LIR of the length of the period and the reasons for selecting it.

7.1. Prior delegations to be used first

An LIR is not eligible to receive a subsequent delegation from APNIC until its current customer delegations account for at least eighty percent of the total address space it holds. This is referred to as the “eighty percent rule”.

7.2. Special circumstances – large delegations

An LIR may request an exception to the eighty percent rule if it needs to make a single delegation that is larger than the amount of pace it has remaining.

Part 3: IPv6 Policy

8.0. IPv6 allocations

8.1. Minimum IPv6 allocation

The minimum allocation size for IPv6 address space is /32.

Applicants that meet the initial allocation criteria are eligible to receive the minimum allocation. Larger initial allocations may be justified if:

1. The applicant provides comprehensive documentation of planned IPv6 infrastructure which would require a larger allocation; or
2. The applicant provides comprehensive documentation of all of the following:
   • its existing IPv4 infrastructure and customer base,
   • its intention to provide its existing IPv4 services via IPv6, and
   • its intention to move some of its existing IPv4 customers to IPv6 within two years.

In either case, an allocation will be made which fulfils the calculated address requirement, in accordance with the HD-Ratio based utilization policy.

8.2. Initial IPv6 allocations

8.2.1. Account holders with existing IPv4 space

Subject to Section 8.1., existing IPv4 address space may be considered in determining the initial IPv6 allocation size. APNIC applies a minimum size for IPv6 allocations to facilitate prefix-based filtering.

APNIC account holders that have been delegated an IPv4 address block from APNIC, but have no IPv6 space, can qualify for an appropriately sized IPv6 block under the matching IPv6 policy. For example, an account holder that has received an IPv4 IXP assignment will be eligible to receive an IPv6 IXP assignment.

The size of the IPv6 delegation for requestors that meet this criterion will be based on the following:

• An account holder that has an IPv4 allocation is eligible for a /32 IPv6 address block.
• An account holder that has an IPv4 assignment is eligible for a /48 IPv6 address block.

If an APNIC account holder wishes to receive an initial allocation or assignment larger than the sizes described above, the account holder will need to apply under the alternative criteria described in Section 8.2.2. and Section 9.1 below.

8.2.2. Account holders without existing IPv4 space

To qualify for an initial allocation of IPv6 address space, an account holder must:

1. Be an LIR
2. Not be an end site
3. Plan, within two years, to provide IPv6 connectivity to others/end-users to which it will make assignments.

The allocation size, in case an address block bigger than the default one (as indicated in Section 8.2.1.) is requested, will be based on the number of users, the extent of the account holder’s infrastructure, the hierarchical and geographical structuring of the networks, the segmentation of infrastructure for security and the planned longevity of the allocation.

Private networks (those not connected to the public Internet) may also be eligible for an IPv6 address space allocation provided they meet equivalent criteria to those listed above.

8.3. Subsequent IPv6 allocations

Account holders that hold an existing IPv6 allocation may receive a subsequent allocation in accordance with the following policies.

8.3.1. Existing IPv6 address resource holders

Resource holders that received /35 IPv6 allocation under the previous IPv6 address policy [RIRv6-Policies] are immediately entitled to have their allocation expanded to a /32 address block, without providing justification, so long as they satisfy the criteria in Section 8.2.2.

The /32 address block will contain the already allocated smaller address block (one or multiple /35 address blocks in many cases) that was already reserved by the RIR for a subsequent allocation to the account holder. Requests for additional space beyond the minimum /32 size will be evaluated as discussed elsewhere in this document.

8.3.2. Applied HD-Ratio

Subsequent allocation will be provided when an ISP/LIR satisfies the evaluation threshold of past address utilization in terms of the number of sites in units of /56 assignments.

The HD-Ratio [RFC 3194] is used to determine the utilization thresholds that justify the allocation of additional address as described below.

The HD-Ratio value of 0.94 is adopted as indicating an acceptable address utilization for justifying the allocation of additional address space. Appendix A provides a table showing the number of assignments that are necessary to achieve an acceptable utilization value for a given address block size.

8.3.3. Alternative allocation criteria

Alternatively, a subsequent allocation may be provided where an ISP/LIR can demonstrate a valid reason for requiring the subsequent allocation. For guidelines on what will be considered a valid technical or other reason, see “APNIC guidelines for IPv6 allocation and assignment requests”.

http://www.apnic.net/criteria/ipv6-guidelines

8.3.4. Size of subsequent allocation

When an account holder has achieved an acceptable utilization for its allocated address space, it is immediately eligible to obtain an additional allocation that results in a doubling of the address space allocated to it.

Where possible, except where separate disaggregated ranges are requested for multiple discrete networks, the allocation will be made from an adjacent address block, meaning that its existing allocation is extended by one bit to the left.

If an account holder needs more address space, it must provide documentation justifying its new requirements. The allocation size will be based on the new needs (the number of users, the extent of the infrastructure, the hierarchical and geographical structuring of the account holder’s operations, the segmentation of infrastructure for security and the planned longevity of the allocation).

9.0. IPv6 assignments

APNIC account holders that have been delegated an IPv4 address block from APNIC, but have no IPv6 space, can qualify for an appropriately sized IPv6 block under the matching IPv6 policy. For example, an account holder that has received an IPv4 IXP assignment will be eligible to receive an IPv6 IXP assignment.

9.1. Criteria for IPv6 Assignments

To qualify for an IPv6 assignment from APNIC, requestors must demonstrate their eligibility under one of the following four criteria.

• IPv6 for multihoming
• IPv6 for critical infrastructure
• IPv6 for Internet Exchange Points
• Provider Independent IPv6 assignment

9.1.1. IPv6 for multihoming

An applicant is eligible to receive a portable assignment from APNIC if it is currently, or plans to be, multihomed.

The minimum assignment made under these terms is /48.

9.1.2. IPv6 critical infrastructure

The following critical infrastructure networks, if operating in the Asia Pacific region, are eligible to receive a portable assignment:

• Root domain name system (DNS) server;
• Global top-level domain (gTLD) nameservers;
• Country code TLD (ccTLDs) nameservers;
• IANA;
• Regional Internet Registry (RIRs); and
• National Internet Registry (NIRs).

Assignments to critical infrastructure are available only to the actual operators of the network infrastructure performing such functions. Registrar organizations which do not actually host the network housing the registry infrastructure, will not be eligible for an assignment under this policy.

The maximum assignment made under these terms is /32 per account holder.

9.1.3. IPv6 for Internet Exchange Points

Internet Exchange Points are eligible to receive a portable assignment from APNIC to be used exclusively to connect the IXP participant devices to the Exchange Point.

The minimum assignment made under these terms is /48.

Global routability of the portable assignment is left to the discretion of the IXP and its participants.

9.1.4. Provider Independent (PI) IPv6 assignment

Applicants who can commit to using and advertising the IPv6 address space within twelve (12) months from the date of their assignment are eligible for an IPv6 Provider Independent assignment.

The first /48 PI assignment to Associate Members is excluded from the annual fee calculation as mentioned in the APNIC Member Fee Schedule.

9.1.4.1. Initial assignment

The initial IPv6 PI assignment to eligible applicants is /48.

9.1.4.2. Subsequent assignment

For additional IPv6 PI address space requirements exceeding /48, account holders must follow the Section 9.2, “Subsequent assignments,” in APNIC guidelines for IPv6 allocation and assignment requests.

Subsequent IPv6 PI assignments requests will be evaluated based on the account holders demonstrated need and adherence to IPv6 policies.

Part 4: ASN Policy

10.0. ASN assignments

10.1. Evaluation of eligibility

An applicant is eligible for an ASN assignment if:

• the network is currently multihomed, or
• has the need to interconnect with other AS.

An applicant will also be eligible if the requestor can demonstrate that will meet the above criteria upon receiving an ASN (or within a reasonably short time thereafter).

Requests for ASNs under these criteria will be evaluated using the guidelines described in RFC1930 ‘Guidelines for the creation, selection and registration of an Autonomous System’ (AS).

10.2. Requesting an ASN

Applicants may request an ASN from either APNIC or their relevant NIR.

The applicant may request an ASN for use in its own network, or for the purposes of providing the ASN to one of their customers, subject to the terms of Sections 10.3. and Section 10.4. below.

10.3. Using ASN for own network

Assignments to applicants that will use the ASN in their own network are subject to the following additional terms:

1. The applicant is responsible for maintaining the registration described in Section 5.3.3.
2. The applicant is entitled to continue using the ASN, even if they change network peers or service providers.

10.4. Providing ASN to customer

Assignments to account holders that will provide the ASN to one of its customers are subject to the following additional terms:

1. The customer that will actually use the ASN must meet the criteria in Section 10.0.
2. The requesting account holder is responsible for maintaining the registration described in Section 5.3.3. on behalf of their customer.
3. If the customer ceases to receive connectivity from the requesting account holder it must return the ASN. The requesting account holder is expected to enter into an agreement with the customer to this effect.
4. Any ASNs returned to the requesting account holder must then be returned to APNIC or the relevant NIR.
5. Alternatively, the same ASN could be registered:
   • via transfer to another APNIC member (upstream provider connecting that customer), or
   • directly by the customer in cases when they become an APNIC/NIR member and receives that ASN via transfer.

10.5. Two-byte only and four-byte AS Numbers

On 1 January 2010 APNIC ceased to make any distinction between two-byte only AS Numbers and four-byte only AS numbers and operates the AS Number assignments from an undifferentiated four-byte AS Number pool.

10.6. ROA/whois object with Private, Reserved and Unallocated (reserved/available) Origin ASN

The origin AS can only be from the IANA specified range and must not contain any IANA unallocated ASN and/or an ASN from:

• 23456 AS_TRANS RFC6793
• 64496-64511 Reserved for use in docs and code RFC5398
• 64512-65534 Reserved for Private Use RFC6996
• 65535 Reserved RFC7300
• 65536-65551 Reserved for use in docs and code RFC5398
• 65552-131071 Reserved
• 4200000000-4294967294 Reserved for Private Use RFC6996
• 4294967295 Reserved RFC7300

APNIC account holders are not permitted from creating ROAs with the above-mentioned ASN, Any existing ROAs with these ASN will not be automatically renewed and deleted after notifying the account holder.

AS0 (zero) is also a Reserved ASN (RFC7607) but will be exempted from this restriction as AS0 is reserved by the IANA such that it may be used to identify non-routed networks (RFC6483 Sec 4).

If the Origin ASN has been marked as unallocated (reserved/available) or from the above-mentioned ASN list, APNIC will notify the account holder to update the ROA with a valid ASN.

Same policy applies to corresponding ROAs for route/route6 whois objects.

10.7. AS-SET

An as-set (RFC 2622 Section 5.1) provides a way to document the relationship between ASes which can then be publicly verified. RFC2622 further defines 2 categories for as-set which can be Hierarchical or Non Hierarchical. A hierarchical set name is a sequence of set names and AS numbers separated by colons.

Non hierarchical as-set pose a security issue where any one can create an as-set without any authentication or authorisation. Since many peering filters are based on as-set, creating a blank as-set or as-set with wrong members can cause automated filters to apply empty prefix-filters to BGP session.

To prevent account holders from creating as-sets that already exist in other IRR databases, APNIC account holders are only permitted to create hierarchical as-sets. At least one component of such a name must be an actual set name. All the set name components of an hierarchical name has to be of the same type.

Any non hierarchical as-set can not be used as a parent to create a hierarchical as-set and this will not be allowed.

Part 5: Transfer Policy

11.0. IPv4 Transfers

IPv4 addresses may be transferred in accordance with the following policies. APNIC does not recognize transfers outside this policy and require organizations holding such transfers to return them to the appropriate IR.

The goal of the APNIC transfer policy is to help distribute IPv4 addresses from those who no longer need the addresses, to those that need the addresses, but cannot obtain them from the free pool.

APNIC recognizes there will be situations where IPv4 resources may be transferred between:

• Current APNIC account holders
• Current APNIC account holders and organizations in other RIR regions
• Holders of Historical IPv4 addresses without an APNIC account to current APNIC account holders
• Organizations through a merger, acquisition, or takeover.

Addresses delegated from the 103/8 free pool cannot be transferred for a minimum of five years after the original delegation.

During that time, if the reason for the original request is no longer valid, the resources must be returned to APNIC as required in Section 4.0. Resource License of this document.

The policies in this document ensure that all transfers of IPv4 address space are accurately reflected in the APNIC Whois Database. This ensures the integrity of the network and an accurate description of the current state of address distribution.

APNIC will maintain a public log of all number resource (IPv4, IPv6, ASN) transfers, including unused (market) transfer, merger and acquisitions, and historical resource transfer.

11.1. IPv4 transfers within the APNIC region

APNIC will process and record IPv4 address transfer requests between current APNIC account holders subject to the following conditions.

11.1.1. Conditions on the space to be transferred

The minimum transfer size is a /24. The address block must be:

• In the range of addresses administered by APNIC
• Allocated or assigned to a current APNIC account holder
• The address block will be subject to all current APNIC policies from the time of transfer.
• Addresses delegated from the 103/8 free pool cannot be transferred for a minimum of five years after the original delegation.

11.1.2. Conditions on source of the transfer

The source entity must be the currently registered holder of the IPv4 address resources, and not be involved in any dispute as to the status of those resources.

11.1.3. Conditions on recipient of the transfer

The recipient will be subject to current APNIC policies. Recipients that do not already hold IPv4 resources must demonstrate a detailed plan for the use of the transferred resource within 24 months. Recipients that already hold IPv4 resources must:

• Demonstrate a detailed plan for the use of the transferred resource within 24 months,
• Show past usage rate, and
• Provide evidence of compliance with APNIC policies with respect to past delegations.

11.2. Inter-RIR IPv4 address transfers

APNIC will process and record inter-RIR IPv4 address transfers only when the counterpart RIR has an inter-RIR transfer policy that permits the transfer of address space between APNIC and its own region.

APNIC will process and record IPv4 address transfer requests between current APNIC account holders and organizations in other RIR regions subject to the following conditions.

11.2.1. Conditions on the space to be transferred

The minimum transfer size is a /24.

The IPv4 address space to be transferred should be under the management of the RIR at which the transfer source holds an account and the authentic holder of the space should match with the source without any disputes.

Some RIRs, including APNIC, have restrictions against the transfer of certain address blocks. APNIC policy does not allow the transfer of addresses delegated from the 103/8 free pool to be transferred for a minimum of five years after the original delegation.

11.2.2. Conditions on the source of the transfer

The conditions on the source of the transfer will be defined by the RIR where the source holds an account. This means:

• For transfers from an APNIC source, the source entity must be the currently registered holder of the IPv4 address resources, and not be involved in any dispute as to the status of those resources.
• Where the source is in another region, the conditions on the source as defined in the counterpart RIR’s transfer policy at the time of the transfer will apply.

11.2.3. Conditions on the recipient of the transfer

The conditions on the recipient of the transfer will be defined by the RIR where the recipient holds an account. This means:

• For transfers to an APNIC recipient, the conditions defined in Section 11.1.3. will apply.
• Where the recipient is in another region, the conditions on the recipient as defined in the counterpart RIR’s transfer policy at the time of the transfer will apply.

11.3. Transfer of Historical Internet resources

APNIC will process and record the transfer of Historical IPv4 resources as defined in the Definitions Document (APNIC-080).

If Historical resources are transferred to an APNIC account holder, there is the option to make the transfer under the conditions described in this policy. Transfers of Internet resources to current APNIC account holders are purely optional.

11.3.1. Transfer procedure

All transfers of Historical Internet resources to current APNIC account holders made under this policy are recognized and registered by APNIC. APNIC does not require any technical review or approval of the resource’s current use to approve the transfer. In addition, APNIC does not review any agreements between the parties to a transfer and does not exert any control over the type of agreement between the parties.

If the historical Internet resources are not held under a current APNIC account, the recipient must verify they are the legitimate holder of the Internet resources.

For more information on transferring historical Internet resources, please see the transfer page of the APNIC website.

https://www.apnic.net/transfer

11.3.2. Policies applicable to transferred Historical resources

All resources transferred under this policy are subject to the provisions of all normal address management policies. In particular, future address requests from the account holder must document the use of transferred resources as a part of their current resource holdings.

If the historical Internet resources are not held under a current APNIC account, the recipient entity must verify they are the legitimate holder of the Internet resources.

12.0. ASN Transfers

Autonomous System Numbers may be transferred in accordance with the following policies. APNIC does not recognize transfers outside this policy and requires account holders holding such transfers to return them.

APNIC recognizes there will be situations where ASNs may be transferred between:

• Current APNIC account holders
• Current APNIC account holders and organizations in other RIR regions
• Organizations through a merger, acquisition, or takeover

12.1. Transfers of ASNs between APNIC resource holders

APNIC will process and record ASN transfer requests between current APNIC account holders subject to the following conditions.

12.1.1. Conditions on resource

The ASN must be:

• In the range administered by APNIC
• Assigned to a current APNIC account holder
• The ASN will be subject to all current APNIC policies from the time of transfer

12.1.2. Conditions on source of the transfer

The source entity must be the currently registered holder of the ASN, and not be involved in any dispute as to the status of the resource.

12.1.3. Conditions on recipient of the transfer

The recipient entity will be subject to current APNIC policies and must meet the criteria for the assignment of an ASN.

12.2. Inter-RIR ASN transfers

APNIC will recognize inter-RIR ASN transfers only when the counterpart RIR has an inter-RIR transfer policy that permits the transfer of ASNs between APNIC and its own region.

APNIC will process and record ASN transfer requests between current APNIC account holders and organizations in other RIR regions subject to the following conditions.

12.2.1. Conditions on the space to be transferred

The ASN to be transferred should be under the management of the RIR at which the transfer source holds an account and the authentic holder of the space should match with the source without any disputes.

12.2.2. Conditions on the source of the transfer

The conditions on the source of the transfer will be defined by the RIR where the source organization holds an account. This means:

• For transfers from an APNIC source, the source entity must be the currently registered resource holder of the resource, and not be involved in any dispute as to the status of those resources.
• Where the source is in another region, the conditions on the source as defined in the counterpart RIR’s transfer policy at the time of the transfer will apply.

12.2.3. Conditions on the recipient of the transfer

The conditions on the recipient of the transfer will be defined by the RIR where the recipient holds an account. This means:

• For transfers to an APNIC recipient, the recipient entity must be an APNIC account holder and must meet the criteria for the assignment of an ASN. Following the transfer, the resources will be subject to current APNIC policies.
• Where the recipient is in another region, the conditions on the recipient as defined in the counterpart RIR’s transfer policy at the time of the transfer will apply.

13.0. IPv6 Transfers

APNIC will only recognize the transfer or IPv6 addresses as the result of Merger & Acquisition activity.

13.1 Provider Independent (PI) IPv6 assignment

The IPv6 PI address space delegated under Section 9.1.4 will be non-transferable. If this PI address space is not used or is no longer needed, it must be returned to APNIC.

14.0. Mergers & Acquisitions

APNIC will process and record the transfer of ASNs, IPv6, and IPv4 resources as the result of merger or acquisition.

Addresses delegated from the 103/8 IPv4 free pool cannot be transferred for a minimum of five years after the original delegation.

The following conditions and consequences apply:

14.1. Updating registration details

If an LIR changes ownership (due to a merger, sale, or takeover), then the new entity must register any changes to its network usage and contact personnel. If the effect of the ownership change is that the LIR changes name, then the LIR must provide to APNIC relevant legal documentation supporting the name change.

14.2. Effect on membership agreement

If an LIR change ownership, then the new entity should advise APNIC of the change. APNIC membership is not transferable from one entity to another; however, if the effect of the ownership change is that the LIR becomes a subsidiary of another entity, and the infrastructures of the respective entities remain fully independent, then the membership agreement may continue.

14.3. Consequences for allocations

Following ownership change of an LIR, APNIC will review the status of any allocations that are held by the new entity or entities, with regard to the practical effect on their infrastructures.

If the practical effect of ownership change is that the infrastructures are merged, then APNIC will not continue to make separate allocations to both. This situation will invalidate the membership agreement of the LIR that is effectively subsumed.

When assessing the status of allocations, APNIC requires full disclosure of all address space held by all of the entities in question. If full disclosure is not made, then APNIC will consider any allocations to be invalid and will require that they be returned.

15. Appendix A: HD-Ratio

The utilization threshold T, expressed as a number of individual /56 prefixes to be allocated from IPv6 prefix P, can be calculated as:

T=2((56-P)*HD)

Thus, the utilization threshold for an account holder requesting subsequent allocation of IPv6 address block is specified as a function of the prefix size and target HD-Ratio. This utilization refers to the allocation of /56s to end sites, and not the utilization of those /56s within those end sites. It is an address allocation utilization ratio and not an address assignment utilization ratio.

This document adopts an HD-Ratio of 0.94 as the utilization threshold for IPv6 address space allocations.

The following table provides equivalent absolute and percentage address utilization figures for IPv6 prefixes, corresponding to an HD-Ratio of 0.94.

P	56-P	Total /56s	Threshold	Util%
56	0	1	1	100.0
55	1	2	2	95.9
54	2	4	4	92.0
53	3	8	7	88.3
52	4	16	14	84.7
51	5	32	26	81.2
50	6	64	50	77.9
49	7	128	96	74.7
48	8	256	184	71.7
47	9	512	352	68.8
46	10	1,024	676	66.0
45	11	2,048	1,296	63.3
44	12	4,096	2,487	60.7
43	13	8,192	4,771	58.2
42	14	16,384	9,153	55.9
41	15	32,768	17,560	53.6
40	16	65,536	33,689	51.4
39	17	131,072	64,634	49.3
38	18	262,144	124,002	47.3
37	19	524,288	237,901	45.4
36	20	1,048,576	456,419	43.5
35	21	2,097,152	875,653	41.8
34	22	4,194,304	1,679,965	40.1
33	23	8,388,608	3,223,061	38.4
32	24	16,777,216	6,183,533	36.9
31	25	33,554,432	11,863,283	35.4
30	26	67,108,864	22,760,044	33.9
29	27	134,217,728	43,665,787	32.5
28	28	268,435,456	83,774,045	31.2
27	29	536,870,912	160,722,871	29.9
26	30	1,073,741,824	308,351,367	28.7
25	31	2,147,483,648	591,580,804	27.5
24	32	4,294,967,296	1,134,964,479	26.4
23	33	8,589,934,592	2,177,461,403	25.3
22	34	17,179,869,184	4,177,521,189	24.3
21	35	34,359,738,368	8,014,692,369	23.3
20	36	68,719,476,736	15,376,413,635	22.4
19	37	137,438,953,472	29,500,083,768	21.5
18	38	274,877,906,944	56,596,743,751	20.6
17	39	549,755,813,888	108,582,451,102	19.8
16	40	1,099,511,627,776	208,318,498,661	18.9
15	41	2,199,023,255,552	399,664,922,315	18.2
14	42	4,398,046,511,104	766,768,439,460	17.4
13	43	8,796,093,022,208	1,471,066,903,609	16.7
12	44	17,592,186,044,416	2,822,283,395,519	16.0
11	45	35,184,372,088,832	5,414,630,391,777	15.4
10	46	70,368,744,177,664	10,388,121,308,479	14.8
9	47	140,737,488,355,328	19,929,904,076,845	14.2
8	48	281,474,976,710,656	38,236,083,765,023	13.6
7	49	562,949,953,421,312	73,357,006,438,603	13.0
6	50	1,125,899,906,842,620	140,737,488,355,328	12.5
5	51	2,251,799,813,685,250	270,008,845,646,446	12.0
4	52	4,503,599,627,370,500	518,019,595,058,136	11.5