European internet registry RIPE NCC moves away from US cloud services at a cost of €5 million

RIPE NCC is set to fully renew its technical infrastructure between 2026 and 2028, ending its dependence on US cloud providers in the process. The Amsterdam-based not-for-profit organisation, which manages internet number resources for more than 20,000 members in 76 countries, is opting for a self-hosted setup without AWS, Google or Cloudflare. The estimated cost is €5 million, split between capital expenditure and operational costs.

Director General Hans Petter Holen announced the plans in a blog post, based on his presentation to the RIPE NCC Services Working Group at the RIPE 92 meeting. Geopolitical considerations and EU regulations, including NIS2 compliance, are the primary drivers behind the change of direction.

RIPE NCC is one of five Regional Internet Registries worldwide and manages, among other things, the routing security technology RPKI, which received a SOC 2 Type II assurance report in January 2026. The organisation primarily serves internet service providers, telecoms companies, academic institutions and government bodies.

From cloud-first to self-managed

RIPE NCC's current cloud strategy has a long history. In 2019, the organisation launched a so-called Cloud First initiative, which was refined in 2021 into a Cloud Strategy Framework and revised again in 2023. At the time, cloud migration was seen as a logical path to increasing operational flexibility.

The geopolitical landscape has shifted since then. European organisations that rely on US cloud services face risks around data jurisdiction and continuity, as RIPE NCC and its Board now reason. The organisation itself cites geopolitical considerations as an explicit motivation for the reversal.

The new approach is described as a greenfield deploymenta setup in which the infrastructure is built from the ground up rather than migrated incrementally. This makes the operation technically substantial, but also provides an opportunity to break free from outdated dependencies entirely.

Funding through savings and member contributions

The €5 million will be financed through a combination of internal cost savings, member contributions and potentially the Clearing House Reserve, the organisation's financial buffer. No external investors or partners are involved in the project.

Member contributions will remain stable for the time being. The annual fee per LIR (Local Internet Registry) account is €1,800 in 2026. Separate charges also apply: €75 per independent internet number resource assignment, €50 per ASN assignment and a one-time registration fee of €1,000 for new members.

The organisation indicates that the migration will place demands on its budget over the coming years, but that this should fit within the existing financial framework. Further details on the phasing of the €5 million have not yet been made public.

NIS2 and RPKI as regulatory context

The move to independent infrastructure aligns with broader European policy developments. The NIS2 directive imposes stricter requirements on organisations that manage critical digital infrastructure, and RIPE NCC falls into that category as the administrator of routing tables and IP address space.

The RPKI infrastructure also plays a concrete role. Resource Public Key Infrastructure is a security standard that prevents internet traffic from being rerouted via unintended paths. As more and more internet service providers and governments rely on RPKI for routing security, pressure on RIPE NCC to guarantee the availability and independence of this service is increasing. The SOC 2 Type II report from January 2026 was a first step in that direction; the infrastructure migration is the next.

Timeline and next steps

The project will run from 2026 through to 2028. The next opportunity for further clarification is RIPE 93, the biannual meeting of the RIPE community, which takes place from 26 to 30 October 2026 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Further details on progress and technical architecture are expected to be provided there.

RIPE NCC has not yet disclosed which European data centres or hosting partners will house the new infrastructure. The exact split between CAPEX and OPEX within the €5 million budget has also not been made public.

RIPE NCC's move fits into a broader trend in which European public and semi-public organisations are reconsidering their reliance on US cloud providers. Whether that trend proves structural will depend in part on how the availability and costs of European alternatives develop in the years ahead.