As the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for the Asia Pacific, APNIC plays a crucial role in managing Internet number resource (INR) delegations and facilitating the development of community-led policies to manage them. Over the past two years, I’ve been actively involved in shaping some of those policies — a journey that’s been both technically fascinating and deeply rooted in community collaboration.
APNIC policies govern how IP addresses and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) are allocated in the Asia Pacific region. These policies are developed through a community-driven Policy Development Process (PDP). Most discussions happen on the Policy SIG mailing list, with decisions made by consensus at twice-yearly Open Policy Meetings (OPMs).
My involvement with the PDP
My involvement in the PDP began back in August 2023, in the lead-up to APNIC 56. I was quite active in mailing list discussions surrounding APNIC’s by-law reforms, and during my research into key topics being discussed, I learned more about the PDP, past proposals, and community discussions. What really caught my attention was learning that anyone could take part.
This wasn’t my first interaction with APNIC, though. I’d become a Member a few years earlier but only dealt with the Secretariat to request INRs. At the time, it was a purely transactional relationship — I didn’t have much awareness of the broader work APNIC and the community were involved in. To me, they were just the place you went to get IP addresses and ASNs. Oh boy, was I wrong…
Over time, as I worked more with INRs and looked into their related policies, I started to notice gaps between the policies and how things actually worked in practice. I also saw that some community members were misunderstanding or misinterpreting the policies. This is where I felt that I could better help the community by learning the policies, making sense of them, and explaining them in a way that was easier to understand. At that point, though, I was still a long way from being ready to draft my first proposal.
Addressing a policy gap
I noticed a gap in policy that, if addressed, could help organizations and community groups learn, collaborate, and provide connectivity more effectively. That idea became the foundation for prop-156: Assignment of Temporary IP Resources. I spent time reading and learning from previous proposals and eventually decided to draft one myself. It wasn’t as difficult as I first imagined. In fact, the hardest part was presenting it to the community for discussion at APNIC 57 during the OPM.
Watch Christopher present prop-156 during the OPM at APNIC 57.
The discussion during the OPM was valuable, with some strong support and some thoughtful criticism from experienced community members. That mix of views is what makes the process meaningful. It helps strengthen the community and the policies we create. One challenge I faced was making sure the policy language met both operational needs and broader community expectations. It taught me a lot about the value of clear communication, patience, and genuine community consultation in policy development.
Policies might sound boring or complicated, but they play a crucial role in how networks operate and grow. Without policies in place to govern the delegation of resources and a community-led and community-driven approach to development, the delegation and management of INRs would be very different.
Involvement is rewarding and empowering
By getting involved, you help make sure the rules are shaped by real-world experience and are fair, practical, and useful. If you’ve ever looked at a policy and thought, ‘This doesn’t match how things actually work,’ that’s exactly why your input matters. APNIC’s process is open, collaborative, and welcomes contributions from all corners of the technical community.
Being part of the APNIC policy community has been both rewarding and empowering. It’s a rare opportunity to help shape the future of the Internet. Policy development isn’t just writing and submitting proposals. It’s about speaking up at OPMs, sharing your thoughts and opinions, joining conversations on mailing lists and working together with others in the industry. If you care about how the Internet works, your voice belongs at the table.
Christopher Hawker is a network engineer and systems administrator. He was an APNIC Foundation Internet Standards Ambassador at IETF 119 and serves on the board of Internet Australia (the Australian chapter of the Internet Society). He is passionate about Internet policy and governance.
The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.