Less than 10% of IPv4 Addresses Remain Unallocated, says Number Resource Organization

[Fouad Bajwa]

Hi Everyone,

I have received the following message from the regional Asian Number
Resource Organization that currently less than 10% of IPv4 addresses
are remaining unallocated. Kindly share your thoughts on this. The
state of IPv6 adoption within developing world countries still poses a
great concern and was also discussed intensely during the IGF2009.
Maybe this would be a key discussion topic in the upcoming ICANN
meeting in Kenya?
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Less than 10% of IPv4 Addresses Remain Unallocated, says Number Resource
Organization
_______________________________________________________________________

Dear Colleagues,

Deploying IPv6 - the next generation of the Internet Protocol - is vital
to the continued development of the Internet

AMSTERDAM - The Number Resource Organization (NRO), the official
representative of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that
oversee the allocation of all Internet number resources, announced today
that less than 10 percent of available IPv4 addresses remain
unallocated. This small pool of existing IP addresses marks a critical
moment in IPv4 address exhaustion, ultimately impacting the future
network operations of all businesses and organizations around the globe.

"This is a key milestone in the growth and development of the global
Internet," noted Axel Pawlik, Chairman of the NRO. "With less than 10
percent of the entire IPv4 address range still available for allocation
to RIRs, it is vital that the Internet community take considered and
determined action to ensure the global adoption of IPv6. The limited
IPv4 addresses will not allow us enough resources to achieve the
ambitions we all hold for global Internet access. The deployment of IPv6
is a key infrastructure development that will enable the network to
support the billions of people and devices that will connect in the
coming years," added Pawlik.

Internet Protocol is a set of technical rules that defines how devices
communicate over a network. There are currently two versions of IP, IPv4
and IPv6. IPv6 includes a modern numbering system that provides a much
larger address pool than IPv4. With so few IPv4 addresses remaining, the
NRO is urging all Internet stakeholders to take immediate action by
planning for the necessary investments required to deploy IPv6.

The NRO, alongside each individual RIR, has actively promoted IPv6
deployment for several years through grassroots outreach, speaking
engagements, conferences and media outreach. To date, their combined
efforts have yielded positive results in the call to action for the
adoption of IPv6. Given the less than 10 percent milestone, the NRO is
continuing its call for Internet stakeholders, including governments,
vendors, enterprises, telecoms operators, and end users, to fulfill
their roles in IPv6 adoption, specifically encouraging the following
actions: The business sector should provide IPv6-capable services
and platforms, including web hosting and equipment, ensuring
accessibility for IPv6 users. Software and hardware vendors should
implement IPv6 support in their products to guarantee they are available
at production standard when needed. Governments should lead the way
by making their own content and services available over IPv6 and
encouraging IPv6 deployment efforts in their countries. IPv6
requirements in government procurement policies are critical at this
time. Civil society, including organizations and end users, should
request that all services they receive from their ISPs and vendors are
IPv6-ready, to build demand and ensure competitive availability of IPv6
services in coming years.

The NRO's campaign to promote the next generation of Internet Protocol
continues to positively impact the Internet community. IPv6 allocations
increased by nearly 30% in 2009, as community members continued to
recognize the benefits of IPv6.

"Many decision makers don't realize how many devices require IP
addresses - mobile phones, laptops, servers, routers, the list goes on,"
said Raul Echeberria, Secretary of the NRO. "The number of available
IPv4 addresses is shrinking rapidly, and if the global Internet
community fails to recognize this, it will face grave consequences in
the very near future. As such, the NRO is working to educate everyone,
from network operators to top executives and government representatives,
about the importance of IPv6 adoption," added Echeberria.

IP addresses are allocated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
(IANA), a contract operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN). IANA distributes IP addresses to RIRs, who in
turn issue them to users in their respective regions. "This is the time
for the Internet community to act," said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's
President and Chief Executive Officer. "For the global Internet to grow
and prosper without limitation, we need to encourage the rapid
widespread adoption of the IPv6 protocol."

Regards
Sunny

--
Srinivas (Sunny) Chendi                 email:       sunny at apnic.net
External Relations Manager, APNIC       sip:    sunny at voip.apnic.net
http://www.apnic.net                    ph/fx:    +61 7 3858 3189/99
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--
Regards.
--------------------------
Fouad Bajwa
Advisor & Researcher
ICT4D & Internet Governance
Member Multistakeholder Advisory Group (IGF)
Member Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus (IGC)
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