The Driving Factors of IPv4 Prices in 2024
There is no argument that IPv4 addresses are one of the most critical assets which contribute to the continued growth of the global internet backbone. While IPv6 provides some flexibility by offloading internet traffic, IPv4 addresses are still the dominating protocol supporting the entire planets exponentially growing internet requirements.
In 2024, more than in years past, the requirements for additional IPv4 addresses will be paramount. The driving factors for the predicted increased IPv4 demand include the U.S. Governments “Internet for All” initiatives. Two of which include an $18 billion E-ACAM program which was already released and the $42 Billion BEAD program due to release in 2024. Our team has provided a resource for all to follow the BEAD funds schedule.
With that said, the IPv4 demand has been stable all year. We started out with 149 in January of 2023, and had 149 transfer requests in November, which is a +6% increase over this year’s average of 141 request per month. Even better, this month’s transfer requests are up +11% compared to the 2022 average of 134.
Our team wanted to find out what people on LinkedIn thought would happen with IPv4 prices in 2024. We launched a 2-week LinkedIn Poll and had over 100 participants vote. The results seem to be pretty one sided, in favor of increased IPv4 prices in 2024. We advise anyone who knows they will require IPv4 addresses in the next 2 years – 5 years to buy now, while prices are low and there is availability in the market.