[members-discuss] Response from Board on Charging Scheme Comments

Dear members,

We are continuing to follow the discussions closely. For some of the 
points raised, I want to share our reasoning for not proposing a 
category model this year.

Last year, after extensive community consultation, we proposed a model 
with 10 categories based on resource holdership.

If this proposal had been accepted, 67.69% of members would have paid 
less - EUR 1,350 or less. Only 34.9% voted for this model. Based on this 
feedback from the members, and given there are so many different 
opinions and proposals on how to charge in different ways, we did not 
want to propose another category-based model at this time. But we do not 
rule it out for the future. We have proposed a BoF at RIPE 88 to discuss 
how to build a stable future for the RIPE NCC, including a sustainable 
charging model.

We also do not want to cut services that support the RIPE NCC’s current 
five-year strategy. We have committed to this strategy until 2026, and 
we think it is important that we see it out. We have already cut costs 
by EUR 2.7 million in 2023 compared to the budget and EUR 1.8 million in 
our 2024 budget compared to the 2023 budget. We are committed to 
ensuring that the RIPE NCC remains focused on reducing costs wherever 
possible. However, we do need to cater to the increased costs that the 
RIPE NCC faces due to inflation.

In addition to the increasing costs, we still have significant 
uncertainty on our income from Ultra-High-Risk-Countries. For the 2024 
income, we expect an amount of 1.1 million EUR to be uncollectible due 
to restrictions from our banks. Looking at 2023, this part amounts to 
1.2 million. This underlines the complexity of our service region and 
the reality we have to deal with.

We would also like to repeat that the proposed models guarantee adequate 
funding for 2025 and 2026. Under this proposal, we expect there would be 
no need for a fee increase for 2026.

We do want to work with the membership after this GM to discuss how best 
to reach consensus on a model that members feel is fair and sustainable 
for the future. We do however believe this is part of a broader 
discussion in building a stable future for the RIPE NCC and would like 
to encourage you to read the RIPE Labs Article by Executive Board Member 
Remco van Mook and engage in the upcoming discussion:

https://labs.ripe.net/author/remco-van-mook/building-a-stable-future-for-the-ripe-ncc/

Kind regards,

Ondřej Filip
Chair, RIPE NCC Executive Board