[address-policy-wg] RE: Private address space in IPv4 and IPv6 [was something irrelevantly titled]

> The term "Globally unique addresses" is useful if you mean 
> PUBLIC part of the network. In my own network I can use the 
> address I like, not involving the RIPE or any other 
> organizations and rules. If I want to interconnect with 
> another network I should agree with the network only, not 
> with all the world.

Let me describe a real situation that we have with some
of our customers. One of several IP networks that we
operate is called Radianz. This network has PoPs in 
120 countries and has over 3000 customers connected 
to it, many of them with multiple connections in different
cities. This network is an internetwork because it 
interconnects the networks of 3000 other organizations.
In order to function, this network requires globally
unique IP addresses to be used for each of its
member networks even though it is not connected to
the Internet.

The Radianz network is not a private network. It is
also not a public network. But it is a SHARED network
just like the public Internet. Historically, IANA has
always allocated globally unique IP addresses to 
organizations on this type of shared network. When
RFC 2050 was written by authors from the RIRs, including
RIPE, they included this text:

    the organization has no intention of connecting to
    the Internet-either now or in the future-but it still
    requires a globally unique IP address.  The organization
    should consider using reserved addresses from RFC1918.
    If it is determined this is not possible, they can be
    issued unique (if not Internet routable) IP addresses.

Remember that I said "It is OK for RIPE to provide services 
that are only needed on the Internet, but it is not nice if 
RIPE would stop providing services to IP users who are not 
connected to the Internet.". The Radianz global network is
not the only internetwork of this type. There are at least
3 other global ones that I have come across, and there are
probably many regional ones as well.

A very large number of organizations depend on these
internetworks, and they would not be terribly happy if
ISPs would hijack the entire IP address space for their
own profits. But I think that the RIR boards understand
this and have no intention of changing the rules to
reserve IP addresses only for the public Internet.

--Michael Dillon