Summary

  • LAC-2025-5 version 2, ratified by LACNIC's board on 24 March 2026, would permit IPv4 sub-assignments to third parties outside the original recipient's infrastructure. The receiving organization must hold a LACNIC-assigned ASN and IPv6 space, use the addresses inside the region and justify at least 25% immediate use and 50% use within a year. Blocks range from /24 to /22.
  • The member making the sub-assignment must record the block and recipient ASN in WHOIS. The ratified text prescribes a public start-and-end movement log and leaves final responsibility with that member. A recipient cannot sub-assign the space again.
  • Two separate three-year restrictions shape the supply: newly received direct or transferred blocks cannot be used for this sub-assignment for three years, and the member making a sub-assignment cannot request new IPv4 or receive an IPv4 transfer for three years after its last sub-assignment. LACNIC's September implementation notice promised a basic stage before year end and described remaining technical challenges; its current policy list still labels LAC-2025-5 “Ratified.”

LACNIC has approved a way to record a transaction its older policy tried to keep outside the room. A member holding IPv4 space can arrange for another organization to use a portion outside the member's own infrastructure, provided a detailed set of conditions is met. In the ratified text, the ledger gains a named recipient and a movement history. The member gains a new route for using its addresses. The price is an unusually long pause on the member's ability to obtain more IPv4.

The background is visible in LAC-2025-5's own rationale. Its authors describe informal address leasing that leaves records stale and suggest a traceable route for smaller ISPs seeking IPv4. Those are the authors' stated reasons for the change. The text does not measure how many leases existed or how much address space crossed a border. The actual policy decision is concrete enough without a speculative market-size figure: LACNIC's board ratified version 2 on 24 March 2026 and defined a new exception to the manual's ban on third-party sub-assignments outside the original recipient's infrastructure.

The exception is narrow in several directions. It covers IPv4 only and excludes addresses assigned for critical infrastructure. Sub-assigned space must be used entirely within LACNIC's service region. The recipient must already have at least one ASN and IPv6 address space assigned by LACNIC. The organization making the sub-assignment must hold resources in the region and have a current service contract with LACNIC or the relevant National Internet Registry. This is a transaction for identifiable network operators, not an open rental shelf for anyone who can pay an invoice.

Version 2 sets the size at a minimum /24 and maximum /22. Those bounds matter because the ratified page also displays the earlier draft: version 1 proposed a /21 ceiling, which did not survive. A reader copying the first figure from the proposal page would double the maximum block size. The recipient must show present utilization or immediate need for at least a quarter of the requested space and project use of at least half within no more than one year. LACNIC may seek more information or conduct periodic reviews. The rule ties a commercial arrangement back to an operational need test.

The proposed visibility has two layers. Each sub-assignment would be recorded in LACNIC WHOIS, linking the block to the recipient's ASN. A public movement log would record every start and end event with the block, ASN, date and event type, while omitting additional sensitive operational details. That is a stronger public record than a private contract known only to two parties. It also gives LACNIC a new structured view of who is using a member's addresses and when. The text makes the member ultimately responsible for the addresses.

If the recipient breaches policy obligations, the member must terminate the sub-assignment; failure can expose the member's resources to revocation under applicable rules.

The first three-year clock attaches to the address block. IPv4 received directly from LACNIC by assignment or allocation, or acquired via transfer, cannot enter this sub-assignment mode for three years after receipt. That seasoning rule limits a quick handoff from newly obtained supply. The recipient may not pass the block onward under the same mode. A chain of sub-sub-assignments is not the model LACNIC approved.

The second clock attaches to the supplying organization. After it makes a sub-assignment, it may neither request a new IPv4 block from LACNIC nor receive an IPv4 transfer for three years from the date of its last sub-assignment. A member making another deal later restarts the interval. This is the restriction with the sharpest incentive effect. Regular supply to other networks can become a long-running choice to stay out of the queue for additional IPv4. The rule trades flexibility in using existing addresses for a cap on acquiring more. It also gives LACNIC a gate over the supplier's future transactions, not just a record of where the current block went.

Ratification is only one date on the implementation calendar. LACNIC's 1 September 2026 notice said the policy would be implemented before the end of the year, with a first stage covering basic elements and remaining technical challenges to resolve later. The policy system still lists the proposal as Ratified, rather than Implemented, at this research check. The published evidence therefore supports a ratified design and an implementation promise. A live movement log, an Implemented status or updated operating instructions would establish which parts are available to members today.