May 30, 2017

An Insight Into The Private IPv4 Market

We have all been hearing about the imminent depletion of IPv4 address blocks, but the day is finally upon us!

The free supply of these address spaces has finally ended. Fortunately, this is still some hope for those looking to avoid the costly IT replacements necessary for IPv6. A growing private market has shown up, serving as a resource for those looking to secure IPv4 addresses.

Why Not Just Make The Switch Already?

For many reasons. Regardless of its practically infinite capacity, IPv6 is still not ready to cater to the demand of the modern internet environment.

A very small number of network operators and users are actually moving to IPv6 considering the number of challenges it brings along.

First off, replicating the IT infrastructure to support IPv6 is a costly undertaking. Similarly, developing IPv6 specific applications is a whole other ballgame. All of this comes at a hefty price tag which many business owners are unwilling to pay.

All of this is pretty much clear with one simple statistic from 2015—IPv6 represented merely 6% of total internet traffic back then.

The Private Market

The shortage of IPv4 and the difficulties that come with migrating to IPv6 have given birth to a private marketplace in Europe and North America. Plenty of previously allocated IPv4 addresses still remain unused.

With the growing shortage, these addresses continue to increase in value. The financial incentive in renumbering these IPv4 addresses for those who truly need them is massive!

While in North America, ARIN has a few IPv4 addresses to give out the case is different in Europe as trading continues to increase dramatically.

One issue that arises in this marketplace is that buyers want to obtain all rights and title for the address blocks they purchase. However, since ARIN doesn’t classify IPv4 addresses as assets, they are not considered as property. This doesn’t necessarily have any impact on the trade of these addresses. However, it can often lead to uncertainty and buyers having to face legal issues particularly when buying from black markets.

If you are looking to avoid the hassles and buy IPv4 addresses or sell them, you’ve come to the right place. At IPv4Mall we help buyers and sellers meet within a safe, online platform, ensuring market competitive rates.

Get in touch with the professionals and beat IPv4 exhaustion the easy way.