INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
COM 2 – D 93– E
TELECOMMUNICATION
STANDARDIZATION SECTOR
English only
STUDY PERIOD 2005-2008
Original: English
Question(s):
1/2
Geneva, 3-11 May 2006
STUDY GROUP 2 – DELAYED CONTRIBUTION 93
Source:
China
Title:
A new address distribution strategy for IPv6
Introduction
The current IP address distribution mechanism of “first come, first get and distribution on demand”
needs to be reformed to add fairness and efficiency particularly for the late comers of the Internet
users. Here we are trying to propose a distribution strategy, aiming at creating a new and
authoritative mechanism of managing and distributing IP addresses fairly and effectively.
Analysis
Due to its global nature, IP addresses are managed and distributed uniformly by the international
organization. Currently the IP addresses are distributed via the “ICANN - RIR” channel according
to the principle of “first come, first get”, and “distribution on demand”. The existing distribution
mechanism has played a positive role in the long period of development. However, the mechanism
has evident weakpoints. The principle of “first come, first get and distribution on demand” has led
to the unfair allocation of resources because of the tremendous differences existing in the
development of different areas and countries. Additionally, the distribution of resources is ruleless,
which has reduced the efficiency of routing and made the size of routing continually increasing.
As for the distribution of IPv6 addresses, it is suggested to reserve big enough segment of
consecutive addresses for each country. The advantages of the proposed IPv6 distribution model are
as following:
(1) Fully respect the sovereignty and public interests of each country
Today, the Internet has become the important public facility of the world, penetrating into many
fields such as politics, economy, culture and religion, etc., which is closely related to the public
policies and public interests of each country. IP addresses are non-renewable network resources. As
a new generation of Internet address resources, IPv6 addresses should be distributed with more
consideration of the actual and the future needs of each sovereign country.
Contact:
Yan Hongqiang
Ministry of Information Industry
Tel:
Fax:
+86 10 6603 9265
+86 10 6803 4801
China
Email: hqyan@mii.gov.cn
Zhang Jie
China Academy of Telecommunication
Standards Research
China
Tel:
+86 10 6809 4345
Fax:
+86 10 68034801
Email: zhangjie@mail.ritt.com.cn
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-2–
COM 2 – D 93 – E
(2) Reserve enough development space for countries with less development level of the Internet so
as to bridge-up the digital divide.
The current IP address distribution policy “first come, first get, and distribution on demand” has
been widely challenged for it is less considering the future need of most countries with
underdeveloped Internet industry. Such a distribution model may further enlarge the existing digital
divide.
Communication is a fundamental social process, a basic human need and the foundation of all social
organizations. Everyone, everywhere should have the opportunity to participate and no one should
be excluded from the benefits the Information Society offers. Therefore, for the long-term
development of the Internet, enough IP address space should be reserved for most developing and
underdeveloped countries, even if these countries are not active in applying for the addresses in the
near future. The global interconnection may not be affected, nor will the current stability of the
Internet be threatened.
(3) Efficiently control the increase of route tables, and optimize the network operation environment.
While designing the address structure of IPv6, the engineers have considered the geographic
features of IP address distribution. In order to cut down the size of route tables while enlarging the
address space, IPv6 addresses are designed to be aggregate. The consecutiveness of IP addresses
happens to meet the demand of increasing the aggregation of IPv6 addresses. The reservation of big
enough segment of consecutive IP addresses for each country can effectively control the increase in
size of backbone route tables, optimize the network operation environment, and improve the access
speed for the end users.
(4) The reservation mechanism does not make any fundamental changes to the existing IP address
distribution and management system, so it will not affect the stable operation of the Internet.
Proposal
As for the distribution of IPv6 addresses, it is suggested to reserve big enough segment of
consecutive addresses for each country. At present, it is not easy to make an accurate calculation of
the number of addresses to be reserved. The following principles are recommended:
Under the principles of fairness, democracy and transparency, the reservation mechanism should be
negotiated by all sovereign countries under the UN framework, while at the same time ensuring the
full participation of other stakeholders, widely soliciting their opinions and suggestions; The
reservation should be dynamic, e.g. the first reservation should leave enough development space for
the future reservations.
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