Marco Schmidt
Marco Schmidt is the Manager of Registration Services at the RIPE NCC. He is responsible for overseeing the registration and maintenance of Internet number resources in the RIPE NCC's service region. He also manages the implementation of accepted policies in RIPE NCC procedures and operations.
Marco first joined the RIPE NCC as an IP Resource Analyst (IPRA) in the Registry Services department, where he worked for five years. In that role, he gained valuable experience in evaluating IPv4, IPv6 and Autonomous System Number requests while providing support to the RIPE NCC membership. Later, he became the RIPE NCC's Policy Development Officer. In this position, he supported and drove the RIPE community's Policy Development Processes (PDP) both externally and internally.
Session
Every connection, routing decision, and network boundary relies on a finite set of identifiers: IPv4, IPv6, and ASNs. But how did a research experiment’s addressing scheme scale to support billions of global users? This presentation will show the remarkable journey of Internet Number Resources from the early, informal days over the creation of the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) system until recent commercial developments. We will explore the critical milestones that shaped internet governance, including the exhaustion of IPv4 space, the market-driven rise of IP transfers and leasing, and the ongoing transition to IPv6. Finally, we will look ahead at the modern challenges facing the registry ecosystem, focusing on data accuracy, transparency, and the evolving geopolitical pressures on internet infrastructure.