[sclug] IP address allocation, ISPs, and admin charges

[Simon Heywood]

I recall having a discussion about IP address allocation a couple of
meetings ago, particularly about not claiming more public addresses than
are needed. I also remember reading on a couple of ISP's web sites that
ISPs cannot charge per IP address; the allocation merely has to be
justified. Fine. But what about changing - reducing - one's address
allocation?

A couple of years ago, when I opened an ADSL account with Zen Internet,
I requested a /3 block of IP addresses, rather than a single static
address, ostensibly to connect multiple servers on the same ADSL line.
Now I'm only using one address (and one server) beind a NAT router, and
the extra addresses seem rather unnecessary, so I requested that my
allocation be changed. However, Zen Internet, when they finally replied
to my e-mail and follow-up telephone call, informed me that a change to
a single IP address would incur an administrative charge (?15 + VAT).

Would you consider this charge to be legitimate, given that I'm not
benefiting from the change?

S.