Telecoms operators must begin the move to IPv6

The IPv6 debate has been going on for a while now with IPv4 addresses running out, and we have advised in the past that companies should be preparing now for the changeover. We have seen a major increase in devices in recent years and an even bigger shortage in IP addresses as a result. We have heard the ‘running out of IPv4 addresses’ debate before, but with the recent increase in the amount of people connecting to the internet via mobile devices such as, tablets, smartphones and cars, the shortage is becoming a reality.

Companies don’t want to appear in the dark ages, and so the introduction of the IPv6 Ready Certification is becoming important, and considered to be the next step for telecoms operators to be taking.

However, it’s long been lamented that IPv6 is not backwards compatible with IPv4 – essentially, they can’t ‘talk’ to each other. Although this does seem like a glaring error; particularly since the two networks will need to run in parallel for a number of years.

Therefore, telecoms operators will need to put measures in place to integrate the two networks, and take care to correctly secure networks. The important thing is to ensure that they offer both an IPv4 and IPv6 service, without doubling their infrastructure footprint as this could have lasting implications.