In what scenarios or use cases would it be necessary or beneficial for a PHP developer to know the provider of an IP address?

In scenarios where a PHP developer needs to restrict access to certain resources based on the IP address, knowing the provider of an IP address can be beneficial. This can help in identifying and blocking malicious users, implementing geolocation-based restrictions, or providing personalized content based on the user's location.

<?php
$ip = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
$provider = gethostbyaddr($ip);
echo "IP Address: " . $ip . "<br>";
echo "Provider: " . $provider;
?>