- IPv4 scarcity has created opportunities for companies to lease unused IP address blocks for steady income.
- Leasing offers recurring revenue but raises operational, regulatory and long-term strategic questions.
‘Idle IP’ and the Emergence of Recurring Revenue
For many organisations, IP addresses remain buried in network diagrams and legacy spreadsheets. Yet the exhaustion of the global IPv4 pool has altered their economic role. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority confirmed that all available IPv4 address blocks were fully allocated to regional internet registries by 2011, ending routine distribution of new addresses.
Since then, companies holding unused IPv4 blocks have found themselves in possession of scarce digital resources. Instead of selling these assets outright, some firms now lease address space to third parties, generating recurring revenue while retaining ownership. This model reframes IP addresses as income-producing capital rather than static infrastructure.
Practical Steps to Leasing Unused IP Address Space
Leasing idle IP blocks typically begins with an internal audit. Companies must identify which IPv4 addresses are actively used, reserved for growth or genuinely surplus. Registry records, routing data and internal network documentation are cross-checked to ensure accuracy and compliance.
The next step involves policy and legal review. Regional internet registries such as the Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre in Europe and the American Registry for Internet Numbers in North America permit address leasing under certain conditions, but they do not guarantee market demand or pricing. This raises questions about whether leasing aligns with the original purpose of fair and efficient address distribution.
Operational safeguards are also required. Lessors remain responsible for reputation management, including monitoring abuse complaints and ensuring leased addresses are not used for malicious activity. These obligations introduce ongoing costs that may offset headline revenue figures.
Case Study: Leasing IPv4 After Network Consolidation
A publicly documented example comes from a US-based enterprise reviewed by Brander Group, which consolidated its on-premise infrastructure during a cloud migration. The process revealed unused IPv4 address blocks that were no longer required for daily operations.
Instead of selling the addresses, the company opted to lease them through a managed platform. According to the case study, this approach generated recurring revenue while preserving the option to reclaim the addresses if future network needs changed. The company also implemented monitoring controls to manage abuse risk and maintain registry compliance.
Also Read: IPv4 as an investment asset: upper potential
Also Read: IPv4 scarcity and its economic impact on ISPs
Limits and Long-Term Uncertainty
Despite growing interest, leasing IP addresses is not without controversy. Critics argue that monetisation could slow the transition to IPv6, which offers a vastly larger address space and removes scarcity altogether. Google’s IPv6 adoption statistics show uneven progress across regions, suggesting IPv4 demand may persist longer than expected.
For companies, the key question is timing. Leasing idle IP blocks can provide short-term financial resilience, but it also locks organisations into managing legacy resources whose long-term relevance is uncertain. IP capital, in this sense, is both an opportunity and a constraint.
