IP address space is no longer free. But an ISP or hosting company is a trader of addresses now and like everything else we do, there is an opportunity to make a margin.

Say the provider bought at $12 per address and assuming IPv4 is needed for at least 10 years, that would only be .1 USD/month.

But does that mean it is unfair to claim a $2 rent on that? What if the service has other components that are equally cheaper?

Regards

Baldur

tir. 4. aug. 2020 21.34 skrev Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. <amitchell@isipp.com>:

I know that a shortage of IPv4 addresses has been anticipated for quite some time (literally decades), however, is there a shortage *right now*?

I ask, because Liquid Web is using it as an excuse to raise their prices:

"We're contacting you today to inform you of a change to your account. As you may know, the global shortage of IPv4 addresses (https://www.ripe.net/manage-ips-and-asns/ipv4/ipv4-run-out) continues to impact web hosting companies around the world. ... Effective August 31st, we will be updating our per IPv4 address price to $2.00 per IP."

Anne

--
Anne P. Mitchell, Attorney at Law
Dean of Cyberlaw & Cybersecurity, Lincoln Law School
CEO, SuretyMail Email Reputation Certification
Author: Section 6 of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (the Federal anti-spam law)
Board of Directors, Denver Internet Exchange
Chair Emeritus, Asilomar Microcomputer Workshop
Former Counsel: Mail Abuse Prevention System (MAPS)