Are you tech savvy person? Or maybe read technology news very often then you may have come across IPv4 secondary market. It can be defined as another marketplace to buy / sell / lease IPv4 addresses alternate to the main IPv4 marketplace where RIRs (Regional Internet Registries) are directly involved.
How did the secondary IPv4 Market come into being?
When the RIRs, namely ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers), RIPE (Réseaux IP Européens or European IP Networks), APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Centre), AFRINIC (African Network Information Centre) and LACNIC (Latin America and Caribbean Network Information Centre) understood that they are running out of IPv4s that means supply of Version 4 IP addresses was running low, yet demand was high due to a huge number of devices using the internet and also after the advent of internet of things. That is when IPv6 (version 6 of IP addresses) was introduced, however initially it was very expensive for small businesses to start using IPv6 and the infrastructure was not same as IPv4, which meant a total restructure of your company infrastructure which was expensive etc.
The high demand for IPv4 and incapacity to use IPv6, a secondary market was created. The secondary IPv4 market is also very popularly known IPv4 black market.
How does the IPv4 Secondary market work?
The secondary IPv4 market is structured in the following way:
- IPv4 Official Broker, Alpha InfoLab, Inc. specialises in buying / selling / leasing of IPs and is authorized by the RIRs.
- The IPv4 seller sells his IPv4s to the IPv4 broker (the broker checks if the IPs are working and clean)
- If the IPv4 Broker is satisfied with the IPs then it places the sell quote on its online IPv4 marketplace
- If a buyer is looking for IPv4s, they approach the IPv4 Broker and then an IPv4 selling quote is provided to the buyer
- If the buyer is alright with the price, then the IPv4 Broker will inform the seller about buyer’s intent and asks the seller to prepare the required documentations and inform the RIR from where the IPv4s belong.
- In the same way the broker will ask the buyer to contact the RIR and request to buy the seller’s IPv4s
- The RIR then requires some formalities to be done from both the buyer and seller’s side
- Once everything is alright in terms of buyer paying the seller for the IPv4s, the RIR will transfer the IPv4s from the seller to the buyer.
- This entire process is cumbersome, especially if you do not go through a reputed and trusted IPv4 Broker.
Benefits of IPv4 Secondary Market:
- Regulated by the RIRs
- Buyers and Sellers can approach the IPv4 Brokers, who facilitates the buying or selling or leasing process, so you can sit and relaxFair pricing
- A structured procedure is followed
- Companies that use bulk email marketing to promote their products or services can benefit from buying IP blocks to avoid spamming, instead of using their main IP address.
Have questions? Connect with us today to speak to our IPv4 experts who will guide you through the process and get an all-in-one solution that is personalised according to your business infrastructure.