Gov’t to telcos: Web addresses to run out by October

Unless telecommunications providers in the country move to IPV6, the newest version of Internet Protocol (IP) that connects computers around the world, local businesses and consumers alike will run the risk of being denied Web addresses under the current IPV4 standard. This was the warning aired by officials of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI), the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), and the Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC), which gives out the IP addresses for the region, in a conference held in Makati City on Monday. The four-day event was organized to serve as a multi-sector campaign to promote the “Next Generation" Internet protocol otherwise known as the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6), designed to replace the current Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPV4). The event also coincided with the government’s effort in promoting the deployment and use of IPV6 through Executive Order 839, which was issued in June 2010 by former Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. With IPV4 addresses expected to be exhausted by October this year, CICT chair Ivan John E. Uy said the government is now ramping up its coordination with industry stakeholders to prepare the country’s migration to IPV6. APNIC senior IPv6 program specialist Miwa Fujii said the move to IPV6 is very urgent since there is more room for growth under IPV4. “It’s better for the Philippines to prepare now as other countries are already ready with their backbone. If caught unprepared, the Philippines would be migrating hastily and that would create security problems," she said. Fujji said telcos are probably not moving to IPV6 because the business proposition isn’t lucrative for them as the country’s Internet penetration is still low. “But the proliferation of smartphones that require Internet connections could probably change that," she added. An Internet protocol (IP) is a method by which a data is transferred from one host to another through the means of Internet. Each host, or computer is designated with a particular IP address that is unique from all other host on the Internet. For the past few decades, the Internet has used Internet Protocol version 4 (IPV4) but IPV4 has been showing signs of strains especially on its limited address space and its fast depletion. To address such concern, the Internet Protocol version 6 is created which will have the same function with that of the IPv4 only with larger addresses in a way that it becomes unlimited for everyone, with flexible header format, improved options, support for resource allocations, and provisions for protocol extension. Organizers said IPv6 preserves everything that is good about today’s Internet and adds more features such as stateless auto-configuration, seamless mobility, automated network management, mandated security, and new optional service levels. - Newsbytes.ph