What goes into an IPv4 lease?

Your next customer needs a working connection. An IPv4 lease gives your network the public address capacity to deliver it, while keeping capital available for equipment, people and expansion. The right supply relationship supports the first launch and the customers you win after it.

This guide takes you from address planning to activation and renewal. With LARUS, that journey connects Unlimited IPv4 to direct operator support and Continuity, so your team can concentrate on the services customers pay you to run.

What is an IPv4 lease?

An IPv4 lease lets your business use public IPv4 addresses for a recurring payment and an agreed service period. You put the addresses to work for broadband subscribers, hosted servers, cloud workloads, VPN endpoints or other Internet services without funding a block purchase upfront.

The practical result is usable capacity for your network. Address size, routing, service support and renewal fit together: the block needs to reach your customers today and remain part of your operating plan tomorrow.

Put your capital into the network you want to grow

Leasing leaves more of your deployment budget available for the infrastructure that earns revenue. Access equipment, transit, servers and customer support can move forward alongside address capacity.

• Launch more services. Match public IPv4 to the broadband, hosting or cloud connections you are selling.
• Expand around demand. Plan additional capacity for new customers and locations with the operator supplying your addresses.
• Keep the buying decision practical. Compare the recurring service cost with your rollout and customer revenue, instead of tying the launch to an address purchase.

LARUS Unlimited IPv4 makes address supply part of your growth plan. The question becomes which services you want to deliver next and how your network will support them.

What is involved in an IPv4 lease?

A smooth deployment brings your commercial and network teams together around the same launch. These six decisions turn an address requirement into a service your customers can use.

1. Size the block around your customers

Start with the connections or workloads you need now, then include the next stage of growth. Bring your intended locations, origin ASN, upstream connections and launch date. This helps the address plan fit the network you already operate.

Common block sizes include a /24 with 256 total addresses, a /23 with 512, a /22 with 1,024 and a /21 with 2,048. Usable assignments depend on your network design. Choose capacity around the services you will deliver and the room you want for expansion.

2. Build a clear operating budget

Compare the recurring address charge, service period, setup work and renewal arrangements together. Your team should be able to see how the supply fits the revenue and launch schedule it supports.

Prices change with quantity, duration and market conditions. Use current IPv4 pricing and market data for live figures, with the lease-rate guide for the factors behind them. Check the current offer against the quantity and term your network needs.

3. Get the routes ready for your launch

Share the prefix and intended origin ASN with the people preparing routing. A Letter of Authorization (LOA) records permission to use or announce the block. Coordinate the relevant IRR route objects and RPKI Route Origin Authorization with the same prefix and ASN, so upstream route checks align with your deployment.

The LOA, routing records and BGP announcement do different jobs. Together with your upstream arrangements, they prepare the route for service. Then test reachability and the applications customers will actually use. The LOA guide explains the authorization step.

4. Put the registry relationship behind your service

Address registration remains part of the infrastructure whether you buy or lease. A registry record alone does not give your customers an operating support team or protect their launch schedule.

Direct LARUS supply gives you an operator relationship covering the address service and its continuity. Your team has a clear commercial and technical counterpart while LARUS handles the upstream registry interface. That lets you focus on your customers instead of making registry administration another job for the network team.

5. Prepare the addresses for your workload

Check reputation and blocklist history against the service you will run. Email delivery, API allowlists and hosting each depend on different receiving systems. Review historical routing, confirm relevant geolocation records and prepare reverse DNS where the workload needs it.

Test with the applications and destinations that matter to your customers. A clean routing check does not establish email reputation, and one reputation score cannot describe every service. Use the address-readiness guide to organize practical checks before launch.

6. Plan the next renewal before the first activation

Your customers build dependencies around their addresses: DNS records, allowlists, server configurations and familiar endpoints. Choose renewal and support arrangements with that ongoing service in mind.

Record the service end date, renewal timetable, expected expansion and the team to contact. LARUS Continuity lets you choose the plan around how much your business depends on keeping those services running. The renewal guide explains why that decision deserves attention early.

IPv4 leasing or buying: compare the business result

Buying commits capital to an address acquisition; leasing pays for use over a service period. Both still rely on registration and routing. A purchase does not turn that relationship into unconditional ownership or create business continuity by itself.

What changes when you lease IPv4 rather than buy a block

Your decision	Leasing IPv4	Buying a block
Capital for growth	Recurring service payments leave more capital available for your rollout.	An acquisition commits capital to the block and its transfer.
Getting into service	Align capacity, authorization and routing with the supplying operator.	Complete the transfer and registration work, then prepare routing.
Adding customers	Plan additional capacity within the supply relationship.	Source and fund further blocks as the network grows.
Continuity	Choose the provider, renewal path and service plan behind ongoing use.	Manage the registry relationship and operating responsibilities directly.
The useful comparison	Address service, support and renewal over your operating horizon.	Acquisition, registry administration and operation over the same horizon.

For an operator growing customer services, direct LARUS leasing combines address supply with a party responsible for the ongoing relationship. Compare the complete service, not just a purchase price against one month's rent.

Why IPv4 leasing continues to matter as networks grow

IPv6 deployment and IPv4 service can progress together. Your network still needs to reach the IPv4 applications, destinations and customer equipment it serves. Leasing helps you support that traffic while investing in the next stage of your infrastructure.

Keep the address plan connected to demand: new subscribers, hosted workloads, public endpoints and locations. For the wider deployment picture, the IPv4 leasing guide brings the commercial and technical steps together.

What happens when an IPv4 lease expires?

Renewal keeps the same addresses in your service; an extension can support an agreed transition. If a lease ends without renewal, moving to another block means coordinating routes, DNS, allowlists and customer configurations. Make that decision early enough for a controlled change.

The better starting point is to choose continuity with the original deployment. Keep the renewal calendar and expansion discussion in the same direct relationship, so your engineers can spend their time growing the service.

Choose the operator that stands behind your addresses

Your customers need the addresses to keep working after the transaction. Choose a supplier that can act on routing, reputation issues, renewal and growth, with a clear way for your team to reach the people responsible.

LARUS brings Unlimited IPv4 and Continuity into that direct operating relationship. Its rights foundation is backed by Cloud Innovation's court-ordered AFRINIC shareholder position and exclusive mandate to LARUS as the commercial, operational and technical platform. Read the shareholder-rights record and LARUS mandate behind the service.

For your network, the value is a continuity-focused operator behind the supply, rather than an intermediary arranging a one-time match. Lu Heng's argument for direct LARUS Continuity explains why that foundation matters to a business built on reachable services.

Make address supply support your next launch

Bring your address quantity, intended services, ASN, locations and growth plan. Choose the Continuity plan that fits the network your customers depend on, then coordinate routing and activation with LARUS. Put Unlimited IPv4 to work for the business you want to build.

IPv4 lease questions, answered

What is an IPv4 lease?

It is recurring access to public IPv4 addresses for an agreed service period. You can use the capacity for customer connections, hosting, cloud workloads and public endpoints while keeping more capital available for your network.

How does IPv4 leasing work?

Choose the block size and service plan, align the address and routing arrangements, test your applications and activate. Keep renewal and expansion in the same plan so address supply follows customer growth.

What documents are needed for an IPv4 lease?

The service agreement records the commercial arrangement. An LOA provides routing authorization; the appropriate IRR and RPKI records support route checks. Prepare the intended prefix, ASN and upstream details together to help your network get into service smoothly.

Is leasing IPv4 cheaper than buying?

Leasing spreads address access across recurring payments instead of an upfront block purchase. Compare current pricing, service, duration and the capital you can put into growth. The best commercial choice depends on the network and revenue you are building.

What should I check before leasing IPv4 addresses?

Match block size, routing, reputation and geolocation to your workload. Then choose the support and renewal path that protects the services you intend to run. Those checks turn a list of addresses into a useful deployment.

Can I announce leased IPv4 through BGP?

Yes. Align the authorized prefix and origin ASN, routing records and upstream arrangements before announcing it. Validate reachability and customer applications as part of activation.

What happens if my lease expires?

Renew or agree an extension to continue using the block. If the service ends, plan the address transition across routing and customer systems. Choosing your continuity approach at the start keeps renewal connected to the business you want to sustain.