View source for APNIC

{{Short description|Regional Internet registry for the Asia Pacific region}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=June 2018}}
{{press release|date=December 2021}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
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{{Infobox organization
| name                     = Asia Pacific Network Information Centre
| logo                     = APNIC logo.svg
| type                     = 
| founded_date             = {{start date and age|df=yes|1993|01|15}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=A New Regional Network Information Center is Initiated|url=http://ftp.apnic.net/apnic/info/articles/isoc_newsletter.1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010509060410/http://ftp.apnic.net:80/apnic/info/articles/isoc_newsletter.1 |archive-date=9 May 2001 }}</ref>
| founder                  = 
| location                 = [[Brisbane]], Queensland, Australia
| origins                  = 
| leader_name3             = Yoshinobu Matsuzaki
| key_people               = 
| area_served              = 
| product                  = 
| focus                    = Allocation and registration of [[IP address]] space
| method                   = 
| revenue                  = 
| endowment                = 
| num_volunteers           = 
| num_employees            = 122
| num_members              = 7,828
| subsib                   = 
| owner                    = 
| leader_title             = Chair of Executive Council
| leader_name              = [[Kenny Huang (Taiwanese)|Kenny Huang]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.apnic.net/about-apnic/organization/structure/apnic-executive-council/ec-members/|title=EC members|access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref>
| leader_title2            = Secretary of Executive Council
| leader_name2             = Roopinder Singh Perhar
| leader_title3            = Treasurer of Executive Council
| Non-profit_slogan        = 
| homepage                 = {{URL|//www.apnic.net}}
| dissolved                = 
| footnotes                = 
}}
[[File:APNIC.jpg|thumb|APNIC offices]]

'''APNIC''' (the '''Asia Pacific Network Information Centre''') is the regional Internet address registry ([[regional Internet registry|RIR]]) for the [[Asia–Pacific]] region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Number Resources |url=https://www.iana.org/numbers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250328091517/https://www.iana.org/numbers |archive-date=2025-03-28 |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=IANA}}</ref> It is one of the world's five RIRs and is part of the Number Resource Organization ([[Number Resource Organization|NRO]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the NRO |url=https://www.nro.net/about/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250315200609/https://www.nro.net/about/ |archive-date=2025-03-15 |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=The Number Resource Organization}}</ref>

APNIC provides [[Autonomous system (Internet)|numbers resource allocation and registration services]] that support the global operation of the internet. It is a [[nonprofit organization|nonprofit]], membership-based organization whose members include [[Internet service provider]]s, telecommunication providers, data centers, universities, banks, [[National Internet registry|national Internet registries]], and similar organizations that have their own networks.

== Functions ==
APNIC's main functions are:

* Allocating [[IPv4]] and [[IPv6]] address space, and [[Autonomous system (Internet)|autonomous system numbers]]
* Maintaining the public [[WHOIS|APNIC Whois Database]] for the Asia Pacific region,
* [[Reverse DNS lookup|Reverse DNS]] delegations
* Training in technical skills
* Representing the interests of the Asia Pacific Internet community on the global stage

APNIC manages Internet number resources according to policies developed through an open process of consultation and consensus called the Policy Development Process<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.apnic.net/community/policy/process/|title=Policy Development {{!}} APNIC|website=www.apnic.net|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref> (PDP).

== APNIC PDP ==
APNIC's policies<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current policies |url=https://www.apnic.net/community/policy/current/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250306110833/https://www.apnic.net/community/policy/current/ |archive-date=2025-03-06 |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=APNIC |language=en-AU}}</ref> are developed by the membership and the broader Internet community. The forums for policy development are the face-to-face Open Policy Meetings, which are held twice each year, and the public mailing list discussions of the Special Internet Groups.

APNIC's open Policy Development Process (PDP) also invites stakeholders interested in Internet number resources from around the world (but mostly the Asia Pacific) to participate. These include representatives from governments, regulators, educators, media, the technical community, civil society, and other not-for-profit organizations.

APNIC's PDP is:

* '''Open'''
** Anyone can propose policies.
** Everyone can discuss policy proposals.
* '''Transparent'''
** APNIC publicly documents all policy discussions and decisions.
* '''Bottom-up'''
** The community drives policy development.

== Structure ==
Elections are held at each APNIC Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is conducted during the APNIC Member Meeting (AMM) in February. Voting takes place both on-site at these meetings and prior to the meeting via online voting.

=== APNIC Executive Council ===
Each APNIC Executive Council (EC) member serves as an individual, not as a representative of any other party or Member. Therefore, they must act at all times in the best interests of APNIC. The APNIC EC meets face-to-face at four regularly scheduled meetings per year.

=== APNIC Secretariat ===
The APNIC Secretariat operates to serve its Members and the Asia Pacific Internet community stakeholders.

Its activities are designed to help the APNIC community achieve APNIC's objectives. The Secretariat (APNIC's staff) carries out the day-to-day work. The Secretariat is structured in five divisions: Services, Technical, Business, Communications, and Learning & Development. These divisions encompass all APNIC activities, including that of acting as a central source of information for Members.

== Core services ==
=== Internet number resource delegation ===
APNIC delegates IP addresses [[IP address|(IPv4 and IPv6)]] and [[Autonomous system (Internet)|(ASNs)]] according to policies developed by the APNIC community. All IP and AS number delegation is subject to certain criteria, based on demonstrated need.

=== APNIC Whois Database ===
The APNIC [[WHOIS|Whois Database]] details of IP addresses and AS numbers originally allocated by APNIC. It shows the organizations that hold the resources, where the allocations were made, and contact details for the networks. Users can search the whois for information pertaining to these resources, for network troubleshooting, or helping to track network abuse. The organizations that hold those resources are responsible for updating their information in the database. Internet number resources must be properly and accurately registered to fulfil the goals of addressing policy as outlined by the Public Technical Identifiers (PTI), who are responsible for the operation of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions.

This accurate registration of resource usage is a critical role APNIC plays in the operation of the Internet.

The database can be searched by using the web interface on the APNIC site,<ref>{{Cite web |title=APNIC Whois Search |url=https://wq.apnic.net//static/search.html |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=APNIC |language=en}}</ref> or by directing your whois client to whois.apnic.net (for example, whois -h whois.apnic.net 203.37.255.97).

=== RDAP ===
APNIC provides an alternative to the whois called the [[Registration Data Access Protocol|Registration Data Access protocol]] (RDAP), which was designed to address issues in the whois service, the most important of which are: standardization of queries and responses; internalization considerations to cater for languages other than English in data objects; and redirection capabilities to allow seamless referrals to other registrations.

=== Network abuse ===
For network abuse such as spam or ([[hacker (computer security)|hacking]]), people mistakenly interpret references to apnic.net when doing a whois search to indicate that APNIC is the source of the abuse. Instead, these references to APNIC simply mean that the address space in question was delegated by APNIC to an organization within the Asia Pacific region. APNIC has no authority to prevent these kinds of network abuse.

APNIC also has no technical ability to 'suspend' an Internet service, no mandate to withdraw address registrations, no investigative powers, nor any authority to take action as an enforcement agency. APNIC is in the same position as any other IP address or DNS registry worldwide.

=== Reverse DNS delegation ===
APNIC manages reverse DNS delegations for both IPv4 and IPv6. APNIC only delegates the authority of reverse zones to the DNS name servers provided through domain objects.

=== Resource Certification ===
APNIC provides a Resource Certification service, which is a robust security framework used to verify the association between specific IP address blocks of ASNs and the holders of those Internet number resources. APNIC introduced Resource Certification to improve inter-domain security in the region and enhance the value of the data in the APNIC Whois Database with verification of the resource holder's right-of-use.

[[Resource Public Key Infrastructure]] (RPKI) is the validation structure for Resource Certification that enables public network users to verify the authenticity of data that has been digitally signed by the data originator.

== Other services ==
=== APNIC training ===
APNIC conducts a number of training courses<ref>{{Cite web |title=APNIC Academy |url=https://academy.apnic.net/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=academy.apnic.net}}</ref> in a wide variety of locations around the region. These courses are designed to educate participants to proficiently configure, manage and administer their Internet services and infrastructure and to embrace current best practices.

=== Technical conferences ===
APNIC holds two conferences a year in various locations around the Asia Pacific region. The first one is held with the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT) and the second one is a stand-alone conference. Both events have a series of workshop sessions on topics such as routing, IPv6, and network security, and plenary and conference tracks on operational topics of current interest.

=== Conference schedule ===
Source:<ref>{{Cite web |title=APNIC Conferences |url=https://www.apnic.net/events/conferences/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250316090454/https://www.apnic.net/events/conferences/ |archive-date=2025-03-16 |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=APNIC |language=en-AU}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Title
!City
!Date
!Notes
|-
|APNIC 20
|Hanoi, Vietnam
|6–9 September 2005
|
|-
|APNIC 21
|Perth, Australia
|27 February – 3 March 2006
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2006
|-
|APNIC 22
|Kaohsiung, Taiwan
|4–8 September 2006
|
|-
|APNIC 23
|Bali, Indonesia
|26 February – 2 March 2007
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2007
|-
|APNIC 24
|New Delhi, India
|29 August – 7 September 2007
|
|-
|APNIC 25
|Taipei, Taiwan
|25–29 February 2008
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2008
|-
|APNIC 26
|Christchurch, New Zealand
|25–29 August 2008
|
|-
|APNIC 27
|Manila, Philippines
|23–27 February 2009
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2009
|-
|APNIC 28
|Beijing, China
|25–28 August 2009
|
|-
| APNIC 29
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| 24 February – 5 March 2010
| Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2010
|-
| APNIC 30
| Gold Coast, Australia
| 24–27 August 2010
| Standalone Meeting
|-
| APNIC 31
| Hong Kong SAR, China
| 21–25 February 2011
| Held in conjunction with [[Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies|APRICOT]] and [[Asia Pacific Advanced Network|APAN]] 2011
|-
| APNIC 32
| Busan, South Korea
| 28 August – 1 September 2011
| Standalone Meeting
|-
| APNIC 33
| New Delhi, India
| 27 February – 2 March 2012
| Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2012
|-
| APNIC 34
| NagaWorld, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| 21–31 August 2012
| Standalone Meeting
|-
| APNIC 35
| Singapore
| 25 February – 1 March 2013
| Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2013
|-
| APNIC 36
| Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, China
| 20–30 August 2013
| Standalone Meeting
|-
| APNIC 37
| Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
| 18–28 February 2014
| Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2014
|-
| APNIC 38
| Brisbane, Australia
| 9–19 September 2014
| Standalone Meeting
|-
| APNIC 39
| Fukuoka, Japan
| 24 February – 6 March 2015
| Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2015
|-
| APNIC 40
| Jakarta, Indonesia
| 3–10 September 2015
| Standalone Meeting
|-
| APNIC 41
| Auckland, New Zealand
| 15–26 February 2016
| Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2016
|-
| APNIC 42
| Colombo, Sri Lanka
| 28 September – 5 October 2016
| Standalone Meeting
|-
| APNIC 43
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| 20 February – 2 March 2017
| Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2017
|-
| APNIC 44
| Taichung, Taiwan
| 7–14 September 2017
| Standalone Meeting
|-
|APNIC 45
|Kathmandu, Nepal
|19–28 February 2018
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2018
|-
|APNIC 46
|Nouméa, New Caledonia
|6–13 September 2018
|Standalone Meeting
|-
|APNIC 47
|Daejeon, South Korea
|18–28 February 2019
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2019
|-
|APNIC 48
|Chiang Mai, Thailand
|5–12 September 2019
|Standalone Meeting 
|-
|APNIC 49
|Melbourne, Australia 
|12–21 February 2020
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2020
|-
|APNIC 50
|Online
|8–10 September 2020
|Standalone Meeting
|-
|APNIC 51
|Online
|22 February – 4 March 2021
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2021
|-
|APNIC 52
|Online
|13–16 September 2021
|Standalone Meeting
|-
|APNIC 53
|Online
|21 February – 3 March 2022
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2022
|-
|APNIC 54
|Singapore
|8–15 September 2022
|
|-
|APNIC 55
|Manila, Philippines
|20 February – 2 March 2023
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2023
|-
|APNIC 56
|Kyoto, Japan
|7–14 September 2023
|
|-
|APNIC 57
|Bangkok, Thailand
|21 February – 1 March 2024
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2024
|-
|APNIC 58
|Wellington, New Zealand
|30 August – 6 September 2024
|
|-
|APNIC 59
|Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
|19 – 27 February 2025
|Held in conjunction with APRICOT 2025
|-
|APNIC 60
|Da Nang, Viet Nam
|4 – 11 September 2025
|
|}

=== Research ===
APNIC Labs provide research, measurement, and technical reports on the use of Internet number resources within the Internet, for example, IPv6 deployment.

== APNIC Foundation ==
The APNIC Foundation is a charity established to raise funds independently from APNIC Member contributions to support and expand Internet development efforts in the Asia Pacific.

== Partners ==
APNIC works closely with many other Internet organizations, including:

=== The APNIC membership ===
Major Internet Service Providers (ISPs), [[National Internet registry|National Internet Registries]] (NIRs) and Network Information Centres (NICs).

=== Other Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) ===
[[ARIN]] (North America), [[LACNIC]] (Latin America and the Caribbean), [[RIPE NCC]] (Europe), and [[AFRINIC]] (Africa).

=== The Number Resource Organization ===
With the other RIRs, APNIC is a member of the [[Number Resource Organization]] (NRO), which exists to protect the unallocated number resource pool, to promote and protect the bottom-up policy development process, and to be the focal point for input into the RIR system.

=== Other leading Internet organizations ===
These include the [[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority]] (IANA), the [[ICANN|Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)]], the [[IETF|Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)]], the Internet Engineering and Planning Group (IEPG), the [[Internet Society]] (ISOC), and others.

The previous registry for [[Australia]], known as [[Australia Network Information Centre|AUNIC]], is now disbanded, and its responsibilities undertaken by APNIC.

== History ==
APNIC was established in 1992, by the Asia Pacific Coordinating Committee for Intercontinental Research Networks (APCCIRN) and the Asia Pacific Engineering and Planning Group (APEPG). These two groups were later amalgamated and renamed the Asia Pacific Networking Group (APNG). It was established as a pilot project to administer address space as defined by RFC-1366, as well as encompassing a wider brief: "To facilitate communication, business, and culture using Internet technologies".

In 1993, APNG discovered they were unable to provide a formal umbrella or legal structure for APNIC, and so the pilot project was concluded, but APNIC continued to exist independently under the authority of [[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority|IANA]] as an 'interim project'. At this stage, APNIC still lacked legal rights, a membership, and a fee structure.

In February 1995, the inaugural APNIC meeting was held in [[Bangkok]], marking the beginning of the formalisation of APNIC.<ref name="number">{{cite news |title=On the Internet? Take a number |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/biztimes19950213-1.2.25.11?qt=apnic&q=APNIC |access-date=14 October 2024 |work=Business Times (Singapore) |date=13 February 1995}}</ref> This was a two-day meeting,<ref name="number"></ref> run by volunteers, and was free to attend. Voluntary donations were sought according to the size of the organization, ranging from US$1,500 for 'small', through to US$10,000 for 'large'. Three member types were defined by APNIC-001: ISP (local IR), Enterprise, and National.

1996 saw a proper fee structure introduced, the establishment of a membership, and the holding of the first [[Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies|APRICOT]] meeting.

By the time 1997 rolled around, it was becoming increasingly clear that APNIC's local environment in Japan was restricting its growth – for example, the staff was limited to 4–5 members. Therefore, the consulting firm KPMG was contracted to find an ideal location in the Asia Pacific region for APNIC's new headquarters.

For reasons such as the stable infrastructure, the low cost of living and operation, and tax advantages for membership organizations, Brisbane, Australia was chosen as the new location, and relocation was completed between April and August 1998, while maintaining continuous operation throughout.

By 1999, the relocation was complete, the Asian economic crisis ended, and so began a period of consolidation for APNIC – a period of sustained growth, policy development, and the creation of documentation and internal systems.

Since then, APNIC has continued to grow from its humble beginnings to a membership of more than 7,700<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.apnic.net/about-apnic/organization/structure/members/|title=APNIC Members {{!}} APNIC|website=www.apnic.net|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref> in 56 economies throughout the region and a secretariat of around 122 staff members<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet the team |url=https://www.apnic.net/about-apnic/team/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250306112433/https://www.apnic.net/about-apnic/team/ |archive-date=2025-03-06 |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=APNIC |language=en-AU}}</ref> located in the head office in Brisbane, Australia.

== Economies ==
APNIC represents the Asia Pacific region, comprising 56 economies:

{{div col|colwidth=28em}}
* [[Afghanistan]]
* [[American Samoa]] (US)
* [[Australia]]
* [[Bangladesh]]
* [[Bhutan]]
* [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] (UK)
* [[Brunei]]
* [[Cambodia]]
* [[China]] (PRC)
* [[Christmas Island]] (AU)
* [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]] (AU)
* [[Cook Islands]] (NZ)
* [[East Timor]]
* [[Fiji]]
* [[French Polynesia]] (France)
* [[French Southern Territories]] (France)
* [[Guam]] (US)
* [[Hong Kong]] (PRC)
* [[India]]
* [[Indonesia]]
* [[Japan]]
* [[Kiribati]]
* [[North Korea|Korea, North]]
* [[South Korea|Korea, South]]
* [[Laos]]
* [[Macau]] (PRC)
* [[Malaysia]]
* [[Maldives]]
* [[Marshall Islands]]
* [[Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia]]
* [[Mongolia]]
* [[Burma|Myanmar]] (Burma)
* [[Nauru]]
* [[Nepal]]
* [[New Caledonia]] (France)
* [[New Zealand]]
* [[Niue]] (NZ)
* [[Norfolk Island]] (AU)
* [[Northern Mariana Islands]] (US)
* [[Pakistan]]
* [[Palau]]
* [[Papua New Guinea]]
* [[Philippines]]
* [[Pitcairn Islands|Pitcairn]] (UK)
* [[Samoa]]
* [[Singapore]]
* [[Solomon Islands]]
* [[Sri Lanka]]
* [[Taiwan]] (ROC)
* [[Thailand]]
* [[Tokelau]] (NZ)
* [[Tonga]]
* [[Tuvalu]]
* [[Vanuatu]]
* [[Vietnam]]
* [[Wallis and Futuna|Wallis and Futuna Islands]] (France)
{{div col end}}

APNIC covered [[Madagascar]], [[Mauritius]] and [[Seychelles]] until [[AFRINIC]] was formed.

== References ==
{{Reflist|2|refs=
}}

== External links ==
{{Portal|Internet|Asia|Oceania}}
* [https://www.apnic.net/ Official APNIC website]
* [https://stats.apnic.net/ APNIC stats page]

{{Regional Internet Registry}}

[[Category:Organizations established in 1993]]
[[Category:1993 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:International organisations based in Australia]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Brisbane]]
[[Category:Regional Internet registries|APNIC]]
[[Category:Internet exchange points in Asia]]
[[Category:Internet in Asia]]