Why Companies Join the IPv4 Waitlist in 2025
By 2025, IPv4 exhaustion is no longer a future concern; it is the daily reality of anyone running networks, hosting platforms, or SaaS infrastructure. Most Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) have fully run out of “free pool” IPv4 space and now rely on IPv4 waiting lists and recovered address space to satisfy small allocations.
Even with long queues, many organizations still choose to join these waitlists instead of relying only on the secondary market or leased addresses. The reason is simple: a small, RIR-issued allocation can still be strategically valuable for cost, governance, and long-term independence.
What Is an IPv4 Waitlist?
An IPv4 waitlist is a formal queue run by an RIR, such as ARIN or RIPE NCC, for organizations that need IPv4 space but cannot get it from the normal allocation pool.
- ARIN (serving North America and parts of the Caribbean) uses a waiting list to distribute small blocks when addresses are returned or reclaimed. Requests are filled periodically as space becomes available.
- RIPE NCC (serving Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Central Asia) allows eligible members to request a single /24 (256 addresses) via its IPv4 waiting list when recovered space is reallocated.
These allocations are usually small, tightly controlled, and subject to additional rules (like minimum holding periods before transfer), but they are also direct, first-party assignments from the RIR something the open market cannot provide.
Reason 1: Lower Long-Term Cost Than the Open Market
IPv4 prices on the secondary market have risen steadily as demand remains high and supply continues to shrink. Many brokers and marketplaces report sustained price pressure and forecast that addresses will remain expensive for years.
By contrast, joining a waitlist typically means:
- Paying membership and maintenance fees to the RIR
- Receiving a small allocation (often/24) at effectively non-speculative cost
- Avoiding per-address markups that exist in brokered deals
For organizations that plan to operate long term, the total cost of RIR membership plus a waitlist allocation can be cheaper than repeatedly leasing or buying similar space on the open market.
Reason 2: Direct RIR Allocation for Governance and Trust
A direct allocation from an RIR provides a strong foundation for governance, compliance, and reputation:
- Clear chain of custody and ownership in WHOIS/RDAP
- Easier documentation for auditors, regulators, and partners
- Simplified justification for future address planning and IPv6 transition
In the RIPE region, for example, new or existing members that have never received IPv4 can request a /24 from the waiting list after becoming a member and paying the annual fee. That combination membership plus a direct allocation appeals to organizations that care about having “clean paperwork” and long-term control over their base IPv4 resources.
Reason 3: Strategic Planning Despite Long Waits
Waitlists are not fast. Public data from RIPE NCC shows queues in the thousands of members, with the first in line often waiting well over 500 days. ARIN has also noted that new entrants may face multi-year waits under current policies.
So why do companies still join?
Because they see a waitlist allocation as a future anchor:
- A guaranteed (eventual) /24 or similar block they can depend on
- A hedge against further price increases in the secondary market
- A baseline of address space they fully control, even if they lease more elsewhere
In practice, many organizations treat the waitlist as a long-term project: they join early, continue using leased or purchased space in the meantime, and eventually fold the RIR allocation into their core network when it arrives.
Reason 4: Cleaner Space and Policy Protections
RIRs apply policies that help keep waitlist allocations relatively clean:
- Returned or reclaimed addresses typically go through a “cooling off” and verification process. Blocks distributed via the waitlist often have holding-period restrictions before they can be transferred, which discourages pure speculation.
This makes waitlist space appealing to companies that are tired of battling inherited reputation problems from old, heavily abused ranges picked up on the open market.
How IPv4Hub.net Supports Waitlist Strategies
For many organizations, navigating RIR membership, justification forms, and waitlist policies is complex. This is where IPv4Hub.net plays a practical role. IPv4 Hub helps companies understand whether joining an IPv4 waitlist fits their timeline and budget, and offers guidance on membership setup, utilization plans, and policy requirements. At the same time, IPv4Hub.net can provide leased IPv4 space as a bridge solution, so businesses have addresses to grow with while they sit in the RIR queue. By combining consulting, clean IP leasing, and marketplace expertise, IPv4Hub.net turns the waitlist from a confusing process into one piece of a broader, long-term IP addressing strategy. Discover trusted IPv4 options.
Combining Waitlists with Leasing and Transfers
In 2025, smart companies rarely rely on just one path to IPv4:
- RIR waitlists provide future, low-cost /24s or similar blocks.
- Leasing from reputable providers like IPv4 Hub covers immediate growth needs and peak demand.
- Transfers via brokers are reserved for cases where specific regions, sizes, or “premium” ranges are required.
By diversifying their approach, businesses balance time, cost, and control. The waitlist becomes a foundation, not a bottleneck.
Companies join the IPv4 waitlist in 2025 not because it is fast, but because it is strategic. Direct RIR allocations offer governance benefits, cost advantages over the long term, cleaner address space, and a measure of independence in an increasingly constrained market.
When combined with expert guidance and interim solutions from platforms like IPv4Hub.net, the IPv4 waitlist is less about waiting in line and more about building a stable, future-proof addressing plan in a world where every IPv4 address counts.