With more than 30 years combined experience providing legal counsel to the technology industry, Avenue4’s principals have established unique expertise in the IPv4 industry, driving transparency and professionalism in the IPv4 market.

Co-founded by Marc Lindsey and Janine Goodman, Avenue4 possesses a deep understanding of the current market conditions surrounding IPv4 address trading and transfers. Through a broad network of contacts within Fortune 500 organizations, Avenue4 has gathered a significant inventory of IPv4 numbers. Leveraging this inventory and its reputation within the IT and telecom industries, Avenue4 is creating value for sellers and helping buyers make IPv6 adoption decisions that maximize return on their existing IPv4 infrastructure investments.

Understanding the IPv4 Market

Internet Protocol addresses, or IP addresses, are essential to the operation of the Internet. Every device needs an IP address in order to connect to the Internet, and then to communicate with other devices, computers, and services. IPv4 is Version 4 of the Internet Protocol in use today. The finite quantity of IPv4 addresses, which had generally been available (for free) through Regional Internet Registries (RIRs)—such as American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) are exhausted, and additional IPv4 addresses are only available in the North American, European and Asia Pacific regions through trading (or transfers) in the secondary market.

The next-generation Internet Protocol, IPv6, provides a near limitless free supply of IP addresses from the RIRs. However, IPv6 is not backward compatible with IPv4, which currently dominates the vast majority of Internet traffic. Migration to IPv6 can be costly—requiring significant upgrades to an organization’s IP network infrastructure (e.g., installing and configuring IPv6 routers, switches, firewalls, other security devices, and enhancing IP-enabled software, and then running both IPv4 and IPv6 networks concurrently). As a result, the global migration to IPv6 has progressed slowly—with many organizations planning their IPv6 deployments as long-term projects. Demand for IPv4 numbers will, therefore, likely continue to be strong for several more years.

Supplying Choice

Avenue4 specializes in connecting buyers and sellers of IPv4 addresses and provides access to a supply of IPv4 address space. The availability of this supply provides organizations with a viable choice to support their existing networks while the extended migration to IPv6 is underway. Although the supply of IPv4 address space has contracted relative to demand over the last 12 months, the IPv4 trading market provides network operators breathing room to develop and execute IPv6 deployment plans that are appropriate for their businesses.

Expertise Needed

Organizations in need of IPv4 addresses can purchase them from entities with unused addresses, and the transfer of control resulting from such sales can be effectively recorded in the regional Internet Registry (RIR) system pursuant to their market-based registration transfer policies. However, structuring and closing transactions can be complex, and essential information necessary to make smart buy/sell decisions are not readily available. Succeeding in the market requires advisors with up-to-date knowledge about the nuances of the commercial, contractual, and Internet governance policies that shape IPv4 market transactions. With its deep experience, Avenue4 LLC cultivates transactions most likely to reach closure, structures creative and value-enhancing arrangements, and then takes those transactions to closure through the negotiation and registration transfer processes. By successfully navigating these challenges to broker, structure and negotiate some of the largest and most complex IPv4 transactions to date, Avenue4 has emerged as one of the industry’s most trusted IPv4 market advisors.

Avenue4 has focused on providing the counsel and guidance necessary to complete high-value transactions that meet the sellers’ market objectives, and provide buyers with flexibility and choice. When Avenue4 is engaged in deals, we believe that sellers and buyers should feel confident that the transactions we originate will be structured with market-leading terms, executed ethically, and closed protecting the negotiated outcome.

Avenue4’s leadership team has advised some of the largest and most sophisticated holders of IPv4 number blocks. The principals of Avenue4, however, believe that technology enabled services are the key to making the market more accessible to all participants. With the launch of its new online trading platform, ACCELR/8, Avenue4 is now bringing the same level of expertise and process maturity to the small and mid-size block market.