44/8

Fri Jul 19 03:44:44 UTC 2019

On 07/18, Christopher Morrow wrote:

> My guess is that arin needed more than just: "can control routing for
> a few bits of time".
> I don't really know, but I hope they had more requirements than that :)

It certainly doesn't look like it...

My understanding is that 44/8 was, very much like different pieces of the radio
spectrum, collective common property of amateur radio operators. That an
organisation was needed to operate a registry because of the nature of IP
address allocation does not amount to ownership or the right to sell anything.
This is exactly analogous to the fact that the ARRL (or RAC, or RSGB etc) does
not own and cannot sell radio spectrum allocated for amateur use.

This is not a legitimate sale. ARIN should reverse the changes in its record,
and the ARDC should give the "several million dollars" back to Amazon. 

Then we can decide, openly and transparently, if, for example, some piece of
44/8 should be returned to IANA for allocation to the RIRs.

Greetings,
William Waites VE3HW