I think it's also worth pointing out that there is administrative and technology overhead to leasing out IPs as well; some liability too when it comes to network abuse. Additionally, not every user returns their IPs as they received them, many find their way onto blacklists or other negative reputation lists and must be cleared as the new lessee stumbles upon these issues.

-Matt

On Tue, Aug 4, 2020 at 1:34 PM Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. <amitchell@isipp.com> wrote:

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)