Interim summary of current discussions

Hi,

The proposed interim policy was proposed to go into effect on the 7th
september 2001.

Since this date is getting closer, we would like to summarize the
discussion so far.

- comments from exchange point operators:
  In order to be neutral, they need independant address space for the
  services that they offer besides the addresses used for setting up
  peering relationships.
  - many comments that they can apply for regular address space,
    just like anybody else
    - many comments that it is too hard to get regular address space 

- we didn't see too many comments about the policy itself,
  until David Huberman asked the community:
   
  In lieu of any other policy changes, are you, as a RIPE member and
  participant in the LIR, EIX, and IPv6 WGs, in favor of the interim
  policy proposal for IPv6 address assignment policy for internet
  exchange points?
  
  - quite some people reacted and responded with a 'yes'
  - few comments were send earlier to the list that a policy might 
    not be needed at all

- several different proposals were sent to make it easier to get sTLA
  address space (which can be used by exchange points too)
  - most want to relax the current rules in some way or the other
  - people are worried about easier rules for
    special interest groups (eg. IXPs, small or big providers)
  - one completely different proposal was submitted that proposed to
    allocate a sTLA to exchange point operators which can be
    used to assign address space to customers

- worry was expressed that the interim policy will not be as interim
  as suggested

At this point, it looks like that the community is supportive of the
interim policy but that there are still issues regarding address space
needs other than for the exchange points customer peering sessions. 

These issues are not really part of the discussion regarding the
interim policy but seems part of a grander discussion regarding the
revision of allocation guidelines for ipv6 address space. We should be
able to get progress on this topic on the next RIPE meeting (and on
the mailing list before that).

We appreciate all the input that we have had so far and we continue to
encourage you to let your opinion known.

Thanks,

Fearghas McKay     David Kessens
EIX-WG Chair       IPv6 wg Chair
---