Electronic Products & Technology

Market price for IP address is predicted to rise 100%

EP&T Magazine   

Automation / Robotics Electronics Engineering IP address IP address IPv4 IPv4

Cost jump could push IPv4 resources into becoming a tradable commodity

IP address market prices are estimated to increase by as much as 100% in the next five years, turning the remaining IPv4 resources into a tradable commodity and creating a newfound demand for IP leasing services, according to Heficed, a London UK-based provider of full-range server and IP management services – offering VPN, cybersecurity, hosting and IP solutions. 

The staggering growth of prices in the IP market is a result of rapidly depleting IPv4 addresses, while IPv6 is not yet market-ready, says Vincentas Grinius, CEO of Heficed. Throughout last year, the cost of a single address has risen by 35%, reaching prices up to $20-25 per IP.

“Since the IPv4 market is scarcity-driven, it poses a real challenge for businesses looking to scale their operations, especially in foreign markets”, says Grinius. “The available resources are rapidly depleting. If the trend continues, over the next five years we could see a drastic increase in IP pricing, perhaps even doubling its current market value.”

Raised the public’s demand for IP leasing services

The shortage of IPv4s and continuously increasing prices has raised the public’s demand for IP leasing services. As acquiring the necessary IP addresses can be an expensive endeavor, leasing can provide a cost-efficient and timely solution for businesses seeking to expand their services into new target markets. Heficed provides a secure IP address leasing marketplace, able to suffice the growing needs of the industry.

Advertisement

According to Grinius, there are around 822 million unused IP addresses. “In reality, there are millions of unused IPs, owned by corporations that fail to recognize its current market value”, he adds.

“IPv4s will become irrelevant in the next decade or so, as the market moves to IoT and IPv6 integration, so there’s a limited window to monetize owned resources. By leasing IP addresses for as little as $2,5 per year, companies could earn up to 15 percent return on investment,” Grinius says.

One of the ways the companies could leverage their assets is through IP brokers, but their expertise lies in the buy-or-sell area, thus they lack the technical knowledge behind leasing IPv4s. However, IP brokers can use the IP address marketplace to facilitate the monetization and mitigate risks of the controlled assets, enabling them to take advantage of the short-term market and turn unused IP assets into an additional stream of revenue.

Furthermore, leasing could slow down the accelerating inflation by enabling previously mismanaged IPs to re-enter the market. Simultaneously, this could speed up internet penetration, which was impacted by high IP prices.

 

Advertisement

Stories continue below

Print this page

Related Stories