The North American IPv4 free pool nears total depletion, ARIN activates its waitlist, a needs based standard is proposed for 8.3 transfers, and IPv6 continues to reach new heights in the U.S. while maintaining persistent lows elsewhere in North America.
ARIN’s free pool is effectively drained, with fewer than 150,000 IPv4 numbers remaining in block sizes of 256 or 512. All of the angst over how to handle the dwindling IPv4 free supply can be put to rest. The big question is “what now” given that IPv4 number requests have continued to climb over the years.