As the cost of higher education in the United States continues to soar, universities across the country are grappling with a host of financial challenges that threaten their very survival. Declining enrollment, decreasing government funding, and mounting student debt have put many higher educational institutions in a precarious financial position.
However, most universities have unused IPv4 addresses at their disposal — a significant potential source of capital to boost their coffers.
Why do universities have these unused assets?
IPv4 was created to allocate unique addresses to internet-connected devices to route data as it travels across networks to its intended destination. It was introduced in 1980, and since the internet was considered primarily a research and educational tool at the time, colleges and universities were allocated huge blocks of addresses free of charge. When the internet was first invented, the system included an impressive 4.3 billion addresses — which, 40 years ago, seemed like an unthinkably large number.
These addresses were free and freely distributed in large numbers to virtually anyone requesting them. So, colleges and universities were given thousands, often tens of thousands of them. Only a small portion of which have been put to use.
In today’s highly-connected world, a significant percentage of business models rely on online sales, and almost all businesses lean heavily on internet connectivity. Almost everyone and everything is connected, from employees to the countless sensors that report terabytes of data about every step of a manufacturing process.
And, of course, everyone has countless connected devices, which are not limited to the personal devices we carry. Even homes contain a plethora of devices connected to the Internet, from thermostats to doorbells to smart appliances. As a result of this exponential growth in devices that send or receive data over the internet, the available pool of IPv4 addresses has been essentially exhausted. The few that have not been doled out are jealously husbanded by the registries that control them.
Put simply, the available supply is limited to those who already have them.
Where does that leave organizations that need to connect devices to drive business growth today? They have a few options:
- They can invest in IPv6, the standard introduced to replace IPv4. IPv6 has 79 octillion times as many addresses; however, it is not backward compatible with IPv4. While both can be used at the same time, IPv4 addresses are still needed, or new hardware to translate between IPv4 and IPv6.
- They can fully use the IPv4 addresses they have by deploying technologies in their corporate networks that enable devices to share addresses. There is, of course, a cost associated with the equipment needed to manage this scenario, and sharing can only be extended so far.
- They can also support their expansion by buying or leasing additional addresses from a marketplace that connects them to sellers with a surplus of addresses.
The opportunity for universities
This is where the universities come in. More than 1,000 universities in the US alone have hidden assets at their disposal to sell - their unused IPv4 addresses. Most are unaware of how many unused IPv4 blocks they have available or how selling them could release much-needed capital to support growth initiatives. The good news is that their value has skyrocketed in recent years. The scarcity of this hidden resource has caused their value to increase dramatically from around $18 in 2019 to as much as $60 in 2022 for a single address.
Recent data indicates:
- On average, universities sell blocks of about 8,000 addresses at a time. These are worth nearly $400,000.Many sell larger blocks for over $3 million.
- An increasing number of transactions have been made by educational institutions selling blocks of unused IPv4 addresses.
- The highest bidders for IPv4 addresses are from telecommunications, IT companies, electrical cooperatives, and utilities.
The proceeds from the sale of these unused assets can be used to fund research initiatives, support academic programs, or invest in new infrastructure and technologies. In some cases, universities have been able to generate millions of dollars from selling their IPv4 addresses, which can significantly impact their bottom line.
How should a university approach selling unused Ipv4 addresses?
Of course, universities wishing to monetize their unused IPv4 addresses will want to get the most value from this hidden asset. The best approach is to work with experts in the field.
The first step is to identify how many addresses you have available. Armed with this information, a trusted IPv4 broker can help determine the current value of these blocks (groups of addresses). The broker will then leverage their expertise to find the best buyer for the unused space. Once the right buyer has been found — the broker often handles the complex transfer procedures while ensuring that industry regulations and standards are met. Then the most important task that remains for the university is planning how to spend the funds.
Now is a good time to sell IPv4
Most higher educational institutions are unaware of the amount of unused IPv4 they have. But those IPv4 addresses, distributed in massive quantities several decades ago, are in demand and can be sold now. Now is a good time to unleash the value of these assets as prices have been trending higher in recent years, and there is still healthy demand. However, more organizations will likely switch to IPv6 in just a few years. So, the time to sell is now and apply the working capital to growth initiatives. What are you waiting for? Check your network administration records to see how much your unused assets are worth.
Lee Howard is Senior VP at IPv4.Global.