> But it's pretty unfair how US DoD, Apple, Ford, and others [1] are sitting on enormous IPv4 blocks
Maybe Apple and Ford, but it's more than fair that DoD has large blocks since they created ipv4 to connect themselves to other networks. It was only 10 years ago that the US government decided to give up control of IANA.
Sure there's historic reason that the DoD has such a large block, but it is definitely unfair in the modern world. There is no way they need or will ever use their massive block of addresses. They have 13 different /8 blocks, ~218 million unique addresses, that's over 5% of the entire IPv4 address space.
The modern paradigm you're using as a comparison only exists because this network designed for the US military industrial complex was so freely open and fair that it is now used by everyone.
There were and still are are other global networks -- none of them come close to being anywhere near as open or interoperable. What's the next closest, PSTN maybe?
Seen differently, it’s fair for a founder who has relinquished most of their control over the system to retain 5% equity ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You can always just use IPv6 where there is plenty of address space available. You can even get a /44 as a hobbyist easily
I have no deep ip knowlede, but if the companys do not use those addresses , cant we just use them an snatch away those unused addresses?
Nobody will peer with you if you start announcing addresses you don’t own, so there’s no way to make those addresses reachable on the public internet.