The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority distributed the final block of IPv4 addresses this morning during a short ceremony in Miami, with RIPE NCC, the Internet registry for Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, as the lucky recipient.
RIPE NCC received the IPv4 address range 185/8. Allocations from the final block will take place once its existing reserves of IPv4 address space have been distributed. In a statement on its website, RIPE NCC confirmed it will allocate IPv4 addresses to members in accordance with the ripe-509 regulation, a policy that also outlines how addresses from the final /8 will be allocated to LIRs (local internet registries).
Regional Internet Registries are responsible for allocating IP addresses from blocks held in IANA's free number pool. Allocations go to Local Internet Registries--most of which are ISPs (Internet Service Providers), as well as educational institutions and enterprises--within an RIR's area. Five regional Internet Registries exist around the world: RIPE NCC, ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers), AfriNIC (Africa Network Information Centre), APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Center), and LACNIC (Latin America and Caribbean Network Information Center).
For more:
- see this press release
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