RIPE NCC vs LIR Sponsorship: Costs, Control, and Trade-offs (2026)

Introduction

If you are trying to get an Autonomous System Number (ASN) in Europe, you will eventually face two options:

Direct RIPE NCC membership (LIR model)
Sponsoring LIR model

Both approaches give you ASN + IPv6 resources under RIPE NCC.

But they are fundamentally different in what you are actually buying:

One is infrastructure ownership. The other is infrastructure abstraction.

If you have not yet read our ASN sponsorship cost breakdown, start there first — it covers the baseline economics of both models.

The Two Paths to an ASN in Europe

1. Direct RIPE NCC Membership (LIR Model)

Becoming a Local Internet Registry (LIR) means your organization directly participates in RIPE NCC operations. You are responsible for ASN lifecycle management, IPv6 and IP allocation requests, RIPE policy compliance, audit readiness, and resource justification reporting.

In practice, this is not just "getting an ASN."

It is operating a small registry function inside your company.

2. Sponsoring LIR Model

In the Sponsoring LIR model:

You do NOT become an LIR
A RIPE-accredited LIR sponsors your organization
All RIPE administrative workflows are handled for you
ASN is still registered under your legal entity

Routing control remains fully yours via BGP. This model is explicitly allowed under RIPE NCC policy framework (RIPE-738 and related sponsoring LIR policies). Most small teams and startups actually do not need direct RIPE membership — see why most startups choose sponsorship.

The Real Cost of RIPE NCC Membership (Fully Broken Down)

RIPE NCC Fee Structure

Cost Item	Amount
Sign-up fee	€1,000 (one-time)
Annual membership (per LIR account)	€1,800
ASN fee	€50/year per ASN

Figures are from RIPE NCC's 2026 charging scheme. The €50 annual ASN fee and any applicable resource charges are additional; check the current RIPE NCC charging scheme before making a decision.

First-Year Total Cost

Scenario	Cost
Minimum realistic setup	€2,850
With operational overhead	€2,850+ before operations

Beyond fees, hidden costs include engineering time spent on RIPE policy reading, resource justification paperwork, internal compliance tracking, and IP allocation lifecycle management.

Cost Comparison

Item	RIPE LIR	sknk.eu Sponsorship
Sign-up + setup	€1,000	€0
Annual fee	€1,800	€89
ASN allocation fee	€50	Included
First year total	€2,850+	€89

The price gap is roughly equivalent to running two full Hetzner dedicated servers for an entire year.

See the actual pricing for ASN + IPv6 /48 sponsorship: €89/year — View Pricing →

What a Sponsoring LIR Actually Does

A Sponsoring LIR is not a reseller.

It is a RIPE-compliant operational abstraction layer.

ASN is registered under your legal entity
RIPE database reflects your organization
Sponsor handles all compliance workflows
You receive: ASN for BGP routing, IPv6 /48 prefix (PA space)

From a networking perspective, the customer controls its own BGP configuration and upstream relationships. The resource types still matter: the ASN is an independent resource assigned to the End User, while SKNK's included IPv6 /48 is PA space assigned from SKNK's allocation.

PA vs PI — Deep Technical Explanation

Direct RIPE membership → direct management of PA allocations under your LIR account
Sponsoring LIR → an ASN sponsored by the LIR; SKNK's included IPv6 /48 is PA space

PI is not automatically created by becoming an LIR. It is a separate independent-resource path with its own policy and contractual requirements. Confirm the exact resource type, portability, RPKI responsibilities, and transfer process with the LIR before ordering.

PA can be appropriate when:

Your chosen upstreams accept the /48 announcement
You accept that the prefix depends on the assigning LIR
SKNK-managed ROA changes fit your operating model
You have a renumbering plan if the service ends

The central limitation is address continuity: if you switch sponsor or end the service, the SKNK PA prefix does not move with you.

If the same addresses must survive a sponsor change, assess a separate IPv6 PI assignment before building long-lived dependencies on PA space.

Illustrative Engineering Scenario — Full BGP Walkthrough

Example setup: one BGP-capable provider in Frankfurt and a second provider in Amsterdam. Confirm in writing that each provider accepts customer BGP, your ASN, and an IPv6 /48 before ordering; product availability and route-acceptance policy vary by provider and plan.

Step 1 — Enable BGP-capable VPS

For each provider, obtain the neighbor IP, remote ASN, accepted prefix lengths, required IRR objects, RPKI policy, and peering instructions. A standard VPS plan does not automatically include BGP.

Step 2 — Install routing daemon

On Ubuntu, apt install bird2. Then configure /etc/bird/bird.conf. The minimal config needs:

Router ID — typically a loopback address or ASN-based identifier
BGP neighbors — the Hetzner and OVH upstream peer IPs and ASNs
Prefix filters — ONLY announce your own prefixes, never a default route

⚠️ Common failure: Engineers accidentally announce a default route or unrelated prefixes. The upstream immediately shuts down the BGP session. Double-check your export filter before enabling the peer.

Step 3 — Define BGP policy

Example logic for multi-homing:

Primary path: localpref = 150
Backup path: localpref = 100

This ensures all outbound traffic flows through the primary provider unless a failure occurs. You can also tune inbound traffic using AS-path prepending or MED adjustments.

Step 4 — Failover behavior

When the primary link fails:

BGP withdraws routes from the failed peer
The secondary path becomes active automatically
Convergence time: typically 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on your BGP timer configuration

Step 5 — Validate routing

Use bgp.he.net and RIPEstat. Check prefix visibility, upstream propagation, and multi-homing correctness. If only one upstream sees your route, your export filter or the upstream's policy is blocking announcements.

When Direct RIPE Membership Is Actually Needed

Only if you:

Operate ISP-scale infrastructure
Manage multiple ASNs
Participate in RIPE governance
Run carrier-grade networks

IPv6 PI does not by itself require direct membership; it is a separate independent-resource path that can be requested through a Sponsoring LIR where the policy conditions are met. Direct membership makes sense when the broader LIR account, governance, allocation, and resource-management responsibilities justify the cost.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Category	RIPE NCC Membership	Sponsoring LIR (sknk.eu)
ASN ownership	Assigned under the approved request	Independent ASN assigned to the approved End User
IPv6	LIR allocation; PI is a separate path	SKNK PA /48 with sponsor dependency
Cost	€1,800/yr + €1,000 sign-up	€89/year
Setup time	Depends on membership and resource review	Varies by RIPE NCC review and follow-up questions; approval is not guaranteed
Compliance	Self-managed	SKNK handles submission; customer obligations remain
Operational load	High	Lower registry overhead; customer still operates BGP

Conclusion

The two models differ in cost, registry responsibility, resource type, and address continuity — not merely paperwork.

Direct RIPE membership → operate an LIR account and manage its broader registry obligations
SKNK sponsorship → independent ASN sponsorship plus a sponsor-dependent IPv6 PA /48

Choose sponsorship when those PA lifecycle terms fit the network. Choose a different resource model when long-term address independence is a requirement.

SHIKANOKO NETWORKS LTD (Shikanoko Networks / SKNK) is publicly verifiable as RIPE NCC LIR ORG-SNL106-RIPE and UK Company 17131877. Applications remain subject to RIPE NCC policy and approval; customers arrange and operate their own BGP.