LACNIC · RIR Watchdog
Start here for the proposal-by-proposal record: what changed, why it mattered, who argued for what, how positions evolved, what was decided, and where the evidence still has gaps.
Source facts
Who actually shaped the debate?
BTW Analysis
The recorded policy state changed from introduced on 2016-02-11 to accepted on 2016-12-01. Four versions, labeled 1 through 4, are recorded as "Implemented" and normalized as accepted, but their shared date and the absence of version text prevent identification of substantive changes between them.
The subject of any debate cannot be determined from the supplied facts. No policy text, discussion messages, stance timelines, participant positions, or supporting and opposing arguments are provided.
A formal accepted decision is recorded, but no public discussion is captured: message count, discussion-participant count, and active days are zero. The record therefore establishes the outcome but not whether discussion occurred elsewhere, how consensus was assessed, or whether debate influenced acceptance.
The dataset contains one formal actor and one total participant but no discussion participants or messages. The zero message shares, HHI, effective-participant count, and core counts arise from a zero-message dataset and do not demonstrate either broad participation or balanced influence. They support only the conclusion that participation concentration cannot be meaningfully measured from the captured discussion data.
The only observable institutional chokepoint is the formal decision that converted the recorded status to accepted on 2016-12-01. Because no decision rules, vote, consensus assessment, decision-maker identity, or linkage between participation and outcome is supplied, the actor controlling that chokepoint and the basis on which acceptance was granted cannot be established.
Reserve relationship to IPv4 exhaustion phases · The newer text expressly describes the /15 reserve as independent from IPv4-exhaustion reserves. It also removes the earlier rationale that focused on difficulty assigning critical-infrastructure addresses after Phase 3 is triggered, while retaining the broader statement that the reserve is not subject to depletion phases.
Definition of critical infrastructure · The reserve-creation rule now expressly incorporates the meaning of critical infrastructure defined in paragraph 2.3.3.2 of the Policy Manual; the earlier rule did not include this cross-reference.
1. LACNIC will create an IPv4 reserve equivalent to a /15 to facilitate the deployment of infrastructure considered to be critical or essential for the operation of the Internet in the region.Source facts ↗
. Special IPv4 reserve pool for critical Internet infrastructure in the region. 1. LACNIC will create an IPv4 reserve equivalent to a /15 to facilitate the deployment of infrastructure considered to be critical or essential for the operation of the Internet in the region, where critical iSource facts ↗
Timing of critical-infrastructure requests · A new rule expressly allows address requests for critical infrastructure to be submitted at any time.
1. LACNIC will create an IPv4 reserve equivalent to a /15 to facilitate the deployment of infrastructure considered to be critical or essential for the operation of the Internet in the region. 2. Assignments from this reserve will be limited to the following sizes: minimum assignment size: /24 maximum assignment size: /22Source facts ↗
frastructure has the meaning defined in paragraph 2.3.3.2 of the Policy ManuaSource facts ↗
Review of assignment size · A new rule makes allocation size subject to verification of use and analysis by LACNIC or the corresponding NIR.
2. Assignments from this reserve will be limited to the following sizes: minimum assignment size: /24 maximum assignment size: /22 3. Once the resources are no longer needed for the purpose they were originally requested, the addresses assigned under this section must be returned to LACNIC or to the corresponding NIR.Source facts ↗
the following sizes: minimum assignment size: /24 maximum assignment size: /22 4. Allocation size will be suSource facts ↗
Conforming changes to IPv4 depletion provisions in section 11 · The newer text adds three conforming amendments: it removes the critical-infrastructure exception from paragraph 7 of item 11.1, directs elimination of paragraph 3 under section 11 with renumbering, and removes the sentence in item 11.2 allowing critical-infrastructure applicants to request up to a /22 at any time. The earlier supplied text proposed only the standalone section 2.3.5 rules and did not contain these section 11 amendments.
IPv4 micro-assignment prefix range in Policy Manual section 2.3.3.2 · The new version adds, in both mirrored proposal-text blocks, an instruction to amend the definition of an IPv4 micro-assignment from prefixes longer than /20 and up to /24 to prefixes longer than or equal to /22 and up to /24. The old version proceeds directly from the proposed critical-infrastructure reserve section to the section 11.1 amendment and contains no corresponding section 2.3.3.2 amendment.
Reserve activation relative to IPv4 exhaustion phases · The old text described the /15 reserve as independent from IPv4-exhaustion reserves. The new text expressly provides that the reserve will be used only after the Phase 3 address space runs out.
the region. 1. This reserve will be used once the address space for Phase 3 of the regional IPv4 Exhaustion PSource facts ↗
Micro-assignment prefix boundary · The proposed definition changes from prefixes longer than or equal to /22 to prefixes strictly longer than /22, thereby excluding /22 itself from the stated micro-assignment range.
Proposed amendments to Policy Manual section 11 · The old text included a section 11 amendment package that removed the critical-infrastructure exception from item 11.1, eliminated paragraph 3 under section 11, and removed the item 11.2 sentence allowing critical-infrastructure requests up to /22 at any time. That package is absent from the bounded operative proposal in the new text, which contains only the section 2.3.3.2 amendment and new section 2.3.5.
Public discussion
3 Discussion messages · 2 Entities
Source facts ↗Public discussion
3 Discussion messages · 3 Entities
Source facts ↗Public discussion
2 Discussion messages · 2 Entities
Source facts ↗Public discussion
3 Discussion messages · 1 Entities
Source facts 1 ↗Source facts 2 ↗Partial
Earliest captured: Oct 21, 1999
Latest captured: Oct 8, 2026
