In message <GLEAIDJPBJDOLEICCGMNCEPLCKAA.rhill@hill-a.ch>, at 10:44:01 on Thu, 18 Sep 2014, Richard Hill <rhill@hill-a.ch> writes
For what concerns IP addresses, IANA at present publishes top level information, for example the list of /16 IPv4 allocations at:
<http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv4-address-space/ipv4-address-space.xh tml>
That list has not always been up to date regarding what happened to the legacy (old Class A) allocations. For example it still lists 16/8 as being allocated to Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). But in fact DEC was acquired by Compaq some time ago, and Compaq was then acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HP), so 16/8 is now allocated to HP. This is correctly shown in the ARIN WHOIS.
Some allocations do get updated though. I note that the IANA entry: 051/8 UK Government Department for Work and Pensions 1994-08 references a department which didn't exist until 2001. And originally they had it allocated to the now-defunct Department of Social Security. Therefore I conclude that updates are possible, if there's someone sufficiently motivated to follow it through. Whose role it is to do this, is a good question. However, if the RIR knows that their information is more up to date than IANA's, perhaps the RIR should be pushing it upstream (even if the body to whom it's allocated doesn't seem to care about keeping the IANA record up to date). -- Roland Perry