After years of internal strife and operational paralysis, the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) appears poised for a significant turnaround. The organization, one of the world’s five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) responsible for managing IP address allocation across the continent, is weeks away from finalizing a budget and strategic action plan, signaling a return to functionality.
The positive developments emerged during the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT) held in Jakarta, Indonesia, earlier this week. AFRINIC’s head of capacity building, Mukom Tamon, presented a hopeful outlook, a stark contrast to the organization’s largely absent presence at such events in recent years. “We were extremely concerned that if we did not have some good news out of 2025, 2026 would the year in which our death just continues in a very silent way,” Tamon told attendees, underscoring the critical nature of this recovery.
AFRINIC’s difficulties stemmed from a complex series of legal challenges that prevented the election of a board and the execution of core functions between 2022 and 2025. The organization, which coordinates with ICANN in the delegation and management of IP addresses and autonomous system numbers, found itself unable to effectively fulfill its mandate. However, a board has now been elected, and rebuilding efforts are underway.
Tamon highlighted improvements in staff morale following the election of the new board and detailed the appointment of interim management personnel. He himself is taking on responsibility for technology infrastructure and strategy, alongside a newly appointed finance officer and an executive focused on stakeholder engagement. The development of a budget and action plan, slated for release in the next two weeks, is a key indicator of progress. “That is a sign we are out of the quagmire,” Tamon stated, optimistically predicting, “This year, the phoenix rises from the ashes.”
Looking further ahead, AFRINIC’s board is already formulating a longer-term strategy covering 2027 to 2030, aiming to establish “governance normalcy.” This proactive planning suggests a commitment to sustained stability and effective operation. Currently, AFRINIC holds a pool of 773,376 unallocated IPv4 addresses. Tamon expressed a desire to exhaust this pool, shifting the focus to the adoption of IPv6, the next generation of the Internet Protocol.
The challenges faced by AFRINIC prompted a broader review of the policies governing RIRs. The existing policy, known as ICP-2, outlines the creation and operation of RIRs but lacked provisions for addressing situations where an RIR becomes dysfunctional. The internet community responded by revisiting ICP-2 to define a complete lifecycle for RIRs, including mechanisms for mutual assistance during crises and, the possibility of derecognition. A second round of community consultation on the revised ICP-2 concluded in late 2025, and the Number Resource Organization (NRO), the peak body for the five RIRs, recently published a summary of the feedback received and a status report on the update process.
Akinori Maemura, a member of the NRO’s governing council, reported at APRICOT that some refinement is still needed to clarify certain elements of the revised ICP-2 before drafting the final document. He anticipates a vote on the revised policy by the end of 2026, with potential ICANN approval later this year. This collaborative effort demonstrates the use of a bottom-up, multistakeholder approach – a model recently endorsed by the United Nations – to strengthen internet governance.
The implications of AFRINIC’s recovery and the potential revision of ICP-2 extend beyond the African continent. The stable operation of RIRs is fundamental to the functioning of the internet, and the revised policy aims to provide a more robust framework for addressing future challenges. As Maemura noted, the revised ICP-2 is nearing completion, and its approval will likely solidify the foundation upon which these critical organizations operate, ensuring the continued allocation and management of the internet’s essential resources.
