An update on the AfriNIC situation

Tue Aug 31 17:39:49 UTC 2021

> On Aug 31, 2021, at 00:44 , Noah <noah at neo.co.tz> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, 31 Aug 2021, 03:08 Owen DeLong, <owen at delong.com <mailto:owen at delong.com>> wrote:
> 
> 
>> On Aug 30, 2021, at 16:19 , Noah <noah at neo.co.tz <mailto:noah at neo.co.tz>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Owen,
>> 
>> On Tue, 31 Aug 2021, 02:10 Owen DeLong via NANOG, <nanog at nanog.org <mailto:nanog at nanog.org>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> > On Aug 30, 2021, at 07:44 , Mark Tinka <mark at tinka.africa <mailto:mark at tinka.africa>> wrote:
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > On 8/30/21 16:19, Owen DeLong via NANOG wrote:
>> > 
>> >> You may not like Lu and/or his business model. I’m not a fan of his business model myself, but it is technically permitted under existing policy.
>> > 
>> > And yet you continue to work for and support him in this capacity.
>> 
>> Yes… Because it is permitted by the rules as they exist.
>> 
>> Cloud Innovation your employer is in the business of leasing IPv4 addresses in Asia, USA and Europe etc.
> 
> Not my employer, my client.
> 
>> AFRINIC has never permitted this and Ashil from AFRINIC publicly stated as such in the below archived thread.
> 
> Yet their policies do not prohibit it.
> 
> AFRINIC policies are developed by the community in-line with AFRINIC constitution and related RSA is signed by resource members in-line with the AFRINIC constitution which enshrines the objectives of AFRINIC as the RIR for Africa region.

Yes.

And currently, those policies do not prohibit or place any limitations on out of region use except those enshrined in the soft landing policy.

An attempt was made to create a policy several years ago to prohibit or restrict out of region use. That proposal did not receive general support from the community and was eventually withdrawn by the author.

> If you can find someplace where it is actually documented as a violation of policy, then by
> all means, provide that, but you have so far failed to do so despite repeatedly bringing up this argument.
> 
> I will quote from the AFRINIC bylaws (constution) here https://afrinic.net/bylaws/ <https://afrinic.net/bylaws/>
> 3.4) The Company shall have, both within and outside the Republic of Mauritius, full capacity to carry and/or undertake any business or activity, including but not limited to the following objects:
> 
> to provide the service of allocating and registering Internet resources for the purposes of enabling communications via open system network protocols and to assist in the development and growth of the Internet in the African region;
> to promote the representation of AFRINIC membership and the Internet community of the African region by ensuring open and transparent communication and consensus-driven decision-making processes;
> to promote responsible management of Internet resources throughout the African region, as well as the responsible development and operation of Internet infrastructures;       

Yes: 

> 
> to provide the service of allocating and registering Internet resources for the purposes of enabling communications via open system network protocols
Which covers what Cloud Innovation is doing, so is allowed by the bylaws…
> and to assist in the development and growth of the Internet in the African region;
This creates an additional capability for AFRINIC, but in no way imposes a restriction on its members.

The same can be said of clauses 2 and 3. As written, this section of the bylaws is clearly written to define the key obligations and responsibilities of the company (AFRINIC). Other than possibly the first item, as covered above, there is nothing here which restricts or inhibits the conduct of AFRINIC’s members.

> 
> It’s simply not sufficient to say “they never allowed this” if it’s not prohibited by actual policy.
> 
> 
> Allocation policies are such that resource members abide by the AFRINIC constitution.

Yes… Which Cloud Innovation has done.

> See above section 3.4 and the relevant subsections that refer to management of number resource in reference to Africa region.

As I have shown, section 3.4 does not impose the restrictions you appear to think it does. The plain text reading of the language in section 3.4 is the obligations and/or duties imposed on AFRINIC. It does not extend those obligations or duties to AFRINIC’s members.

>> https://lists.afrinic.net/pipermail/community-discuss/2021-February/003907.html <https://lists.afrinic.net/pipermail/community-discuss/2021-February/003907.html>
>> 
>> You always claim policy blah blah blah in your defence of Cloud Innovation Ltd and Larus business model.
>> 
>> But there it is. AFRINIC has never approved any IPv4 space for purposes of leasing them for money as through they were a product.
> 
> Except that they have and do every day… ISPs all lease IPv4 space for money. That’s what they do with them. They certainly don’t use
> them exclusively on their own networks… They lease them to their customers.
> 
> AFRINIC has never approved IPv4 for purposes of leasing. There is a public statement to this effect.

Yes. Nonetheless, it does not change the fact that every LIR that is a resource member of AFRINIC leases IPV4 addresses every day, nor does
it change the fact that every allocation AFRINIC has ever issued to any LIR has been for the purpose of leasing them to customers. It’s just one
of many false public statements made by AFRINIC staff in the past several years.

Owen

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