Buy IP addresses with an IPv4 broker: a practical guide

Your next customer should not have to wait while you search for an address block. If you are considering buying IP addresses through an IPv4 broker, start with the result your network needs: capacity you can deploy, a clear cost and a supply relationship that supports the service after launch.

What an IPv4 broker does for a buyer

A broker helps connect buyers and sellers, compare available blocks and coordinate a transfer. Some also arrange reputation checks or escrow. That can reduce the work of finding a counterparty. Ask what is included in the quote so you can compare the actual service, not just a per-address figure.

Buying through a broker still leaves a registered holder responsible for the relationship with the Regional Internet Registry (RIR). A completed transfer does not remove that dependency. For an operating network, the decision extends beyond getting the deal across the line.

1. Start with the customer services you want to grow

List the addresses needed now, the next expansion and the locations where you will announce them. Include the applications that depend on stable endpoints: hosting, APIs, VPNs and customer allowlists. A block that fits today's deployment but forces an early renumbering can create work across your customer base.

Also consider your origin ASN, upstreams and deployment schedule. Those details turn a general request for IPv4 into a supply plan your engineers can use.

2. Compare the full cost of purchase and operation

Compare the block price, brokerage charge, escrow, transfer or registry charges and the continuing work of holding the addresses. Ask which costs are included, who pays them and when. A lower advertised price is useful only when the complete quote supports your operating plan.

Use current IPv4 pricing for today's comparison. For a breakdown of the quote, read IP brokerage fees and contracts. Leasing offers another route: keep the acquisition capital available for network capacity and customer growth.

3. Check the prefix you will actually use

Review the specific prefix, resource records, route history, relevant reputation lists and geolocation data. A clean result on one list is not a universal acceptance certificate. Check the destinations and applications that matter to your service, and agree who will help resolve a record or reputation issue.

For a transfer, establish the current resource holder and the applicable registry process before scheduling deployment. Keep the intended prefix and receiving organization consistent across the transaction.

4. Connect the records to working BGP

Prepare authorization for the origin ASN you will use. An LOA communicates permission to use the block; IRR route objects support routing filters; RPKI ROAs identify authorized origins. Your upstreams still need to accept the announcement, and your network still needs working BGP, DNS and application connectivity.

Agree who updates the address-side records when your ASN, upstream or location changes. That practical support is part of the value of your supply relationship.

5. Choose who stands behind your supply after the deal

LARUS supplies IPv4 directly as a first-party operator. You gain an ongoing relationship for capacity, renewal and address-side routing support, with the registry-facing work carried upstream. That lets your team focus on the services customers pay you to deliver.

The foundation includes Cloud Innovation's court-recognized statutory member position at AFRINIC and its authorization to LARUS. See the shareholder-rights evidence behind LARUS Continuity. It is a structural difference from adding an intermediary to another holder's supply.

Build around your next deployment

Bring your capacity, origin ASN and growth plans to LARUS IPv4 Continuity. Unlimited IPv4 gives you room to expand, while plan selection puts renewal and continuity alongside the network services you are building.