Dear Colleagues, On 29 July 2004 the RIPE NCC will begin the final stage of the Early Registration Transfer [ERX] Project. This transfer will involve the former "Class C" space in 196.0.0.0/8 and 198.0.0.0/8. Networks in 196.0.0.0/8 that will eventually go to AfriNIC will not be included in this transfer. The schedule for the networks in 192/8 will be announced later. ERX: FINAL STAGE Because of the large number of registrations involved, approximately 3000 networks, a CGI has been introduced to allow the contacts to specify their preference for the networks, without direct involvement of Hostmasters. The transfer will take place in two phases. In the first phase, notifications will be sent out to the contacts (listed for the affected networks). After this notification, there will be a period of one month in which decisions can be made with regards to these networks. After one month, the transfer will be finalised and notifications of the changes made will be sent out. The RIPE NCC Hostmasters are available to help in case of questions or doubts. Please contact them at: <er-transfer@ripe.net>. FURTHER INFORMATION: The aim of the ERX project is to move IP address and AS Number registrations that were made before the advent of the RIR system to the appropriate RIR database. The ERX project is necessary because the database where these early registrations were recorded was inherited by ARIN, the RIR for North America, even though many networks using addresses assigned in this period were located in regions now served by other RIRs. ERX PROJECT: COMPLETED TRANSFERS The first stage of the project involved the movement of AS Number registrations. This began in August 2002. The second stage of the project involved the movement of IPv4 address registrations from the former "Class B" space (/16 networks in 128.0.0.0/8 - 191.0.0.0/8). This was started in December 2002 and finished in April 2004. More information about the ERX Project can be found on our web site at: http://www.ripe.net/db/erx/ Regards, -- leo vegoda Registration Services Manager RIPE NCC