[address-policy-wg] Update on AS Number Assignments - Transitioning to Policy Compliance

Dear colleagues,

During the RIPE 87 Address Policy working group session yesterday, I 
presented the topic of AS Number assignments, specifically addressing a 
policy in place since 2010. According to this policy, assignments should 
be made from an undifferentiated 32-bit AS Number allocation pool.
https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-679#ASnumbers

Before this policy became active in 2010, the Address Policy WG 
recognized that many providers were not ready to exclusively work with 
32-bit ASNs, mostly due to technical constraints. A verbal consensus in 
2009 suggested that the RIPE NCC would temporarily continue using two 
pools of 16-bit and 32-bit AS Numbers. The plan was to attempt to extend 
the global policy by 12 months, but this effort was never undertaken. To 
date, the RIPE NCC remains the only Regional Internet Registry (RIR) 
employing this temporary approach.

Observing that other RIRs have successfully issued AS Numbers from an 
undifferentiated pool for many years without technical challenges for 
operators, the RIPE NCC plans to phase out the current temporary 
approach. The intention is to align with the policy and issue AS Numbers 
accordingly.

No objections were raised during the working group session. However, for 
transparency, we want to inform working group members who couldn't 
attend the RIPE meeting. The presentation can be viewed here:
https://youtu.be/Zoq4PpqlaK4?t=1797

Kind regards,
Marco Schmidt
Manager Registration Services
RIPE NCC