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The internet witnessed a dramatic growth since the 1908s which accelerated exponentially through the 1990’s. IPv4, the 32-bit system of assigning Internet addresses, was designed to allocate 4.3 billion addresses, which was anticipated to fall short and is currently exceeded by the number of internet users in 2019. This shortfall has resulted in a rapid exhaustion of the reserve pool of unallocated addresses, especially in 4 of the 5 Regional Internet Registries (RIR) wherein the 5th has already entered the first phase of exhaustion. To the internet savvy, the said exhaustion has come to be known as IPv4 depletion.

The IPv4 system for the whole world is managed by the Internet Assigned Number’s Authority (IANA) and it has already begun deployment of IPv6, the 128-bit system of assigning internet addresses, in a bid to catch-up with the depletion consequent to growing number of users, always on machines, IOT and mobile devices. Meanwhile, IPv4 still persists as the standard and the supply crunch coupled with growing demand has resulted in a huge market for brokerage services i.e. IPv4 brokers. Like any market, the IPv4 market is comprised of registered brokers as well as those who operate in the black market.

The supply-demand gap of any commodity or service makes the transaction exhaustive and expensive. Brokers pride themselves on saving their clients time, money and effort, while extraction commissions for facilitating the transaction. The preferred and legally compliant choice is to always go for registered brokers and legitimate transactions that are recorded for audit and authority review. Since, IPv4 addresses have a limited number, without possibility of further production, the aforesaid IPv4 depletion makes it harder to secure IPv4 addresses with each passing moment. Consequently, desperation of many clients also rises and so does the demand for IPv4 black market transactions, since they bypass compliances and though the IPv4 black market risks also include criminal prosecution and serious punishments, some clients are willing to take the risks by adhering to the maxims “desperate times need desperate measures” and “higher risks yield higher rewards”.

If one were to enumerate Black market risks, then the most obvious ones that come to mind are follows:

1. No disclosure of Identity: Black Market Brokers often safeguard themselves from contractual and legal liabilities by masking their true identities. Without any liabilities, the entire risk is on the client, who is entering a transaction with no guarantees and no legal recourse.

2. Very Costly and/or Very Dangerous: In case the Broker does agree to bear any liability, it comes in the form of a very expensive transaction, wherein the only motive of a client seems time. Time is saved by ignoring compliances and this can also become a very dangerous transaction with serious risks and threats to the client within and beyond the purview of applicable laws

3. Illegal and Damaging to Well Being, Life and/or Livelihood: Fact, a black market transaction is illegal, when caught; the client and/or broker lose their livelihood, risk losing their life and certainly lose their rights and wellbeing upon being prosecuted.

Judging by the risks, the IPv4 broker advantages of a registered service provider become self-evident:

1. Legitimacy of Transaction: The transaction is compliant to all the governing laws; hence the risk of seizure of purchased addresses is out of the question. Registered brokers are liable to serious penalties upon any default or lapses in contractual obligations and the major risk of the transaction is on the broker and not on the client. The broker becomes answerable to the client.

2. Transparent, affordable and secure: Though expensive, a registered broker is certainly more affordable than his/her black market counterpart. The contract is transparent and secure i.e. There is a money trail which validates payments for specified services.

3. Full disclosure of incidental information: The Laws mandate necessary disclosures between both parties. So that the transaction is a result of informed decisions and not some desperate gamble

Prefixx, as an independent registered broker for IPv4 addresses, has team of experts with over 12 years of credible experience of delivering bespoke services in network design, integration of networks and their management, across 5 continents.

Armed with Multi-regional and cross functional capabilities, Prefixx believes in giving value before charging a client, hence the client only pays for completed transactions.