Cloud Innovation says Africa’s IP addresses belong to network operators, not AFRINIC

Cloud Innovation is challenging the idea that “IP for Africa” gives AFRINIC ownership over Africa’s internet number resources. The company says the phrase should mean operators can lawfully hold, vote on and transfer their addresses, while AFRINIC cites policy and registry rules that keep those resources in-region.

Why it matters: - Cloud Innovation is pressing a broader fight over who controls Africa’s internet number resources and what “IP for Africa” actually means. - The dispute affects whether network operators can move IPv4 addresses across regional registries, which can shape market access, governance and operator freedom. - The company frames the issue as a rule-of-law question, not just a technical registry policy.

What happened: - Cloud Innovation Ltd published a new position across five languages and in a Note by Lu Heng on 13 November 2026. - The company argued that “IP for Africa” means African network operators own the addresses they lawfully hold, have a vote in the registry that serves them and can leave. - Cloud Innovation said that interpretation has been replaced by “Africa for AFRINIC.”

The details: - Cloud Innovation based its case on RFC 1366, the 1992 proposal for regional registries. - RFC 1366 said a registry near the networks “may be better able to serve the local community in terms of language and local customs.” - RFC 1366 also called for “just a single regional registry per geographical region” for efficiency. - Cloud Innovation said those rules created convenience and a monopoly, not ownership of a continent. - AFRINIC states that the numbers it registers “are allocated to AFRINIC and the four other RIRs by Public Technical Identifiers (PTI).” - AFRINIC’s Registration Service Agreement says each network acknowledges its addresses “are not property (real, personal or intellectual).” - The same agreement limits AFRINIC’s liability to the greater of six months of fees or 100 USD. - AFRINIC’s board ratified a transfer policy on 4 February 2026 saying “AFRINIC-issued IPv4 cannot be transferred out of the region.” - AFRINIC’s own assessment said the reason was that “AFRINIC will not lose its current resource members to other RIRs in outgoing transfers.” - Cloud Innovation published supporting pages titled “IP for Africa. Not Africa for AFRINIC,” “Own your IP” and “Africa’s IP addresses.” - The company also linked to Lu Heng’s Note 78, “IP for Africa, Not Africa for AFRINIC”.

Between the lines: - Cloud Innovation is trying to recast the debate from territorial control to user rights and contractual limits. - AFRINIC’s language on allocation, non-ownership and in-region transfers suggests the registry sees itself as a gatekeeper of resources, not a custodian of private property. - The argument could matter beyond this dispute because regional internet governance often turns on who holds power over scarce IPv4 inventory.

What’s next: - Cloud Innovation appears set to keep pressing its interpretation through its published materials and public messaging. - The transfer-policy dispute is likely to remain central as AFRINIC and members interpret what in-region control means in practice.

The bottom line: - Cloud Innovation says Africa’s internet number resources are a promise to network operators, not a deed to AFRINIC.