NRO warns the world is running out of internet addresses
The Number Resource Organization (NRO), the coordinating group that oversees the allocation of Internet number resources around the world, announced today that less than 10 percent of available IPv4 addresses remain unallocated.
The group is warning that with so few IPv4 addresses remaining, immediate planning for the implementation of the next-generation Internet Protocol (IPv6) is now required or the world could run out of internet addresses.
“The limited IPv4 addresses will not allow us enough resources to achieve the ambitions we all hold for global Internet access.” said Axel Pawlik, Chairman of the NRO. “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.”
Background
Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of technical rules that defines how devices communicate over a network. There are currently two versions of IP, IPv4 and IPv6.
Although IPv4 has served us well for many years, the problem is that it is limited to about 4 billion unique public internet addresses. The rapid growth of devices connecting directly to the internet has skyrocketed in the last ten years which has led to a rapid depletion of IP addresses.
“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.
IPv6 includes a modern numbering system that provides a much larger address pool than IPv4 and virtually guarantees enough unique internet addresses for generations.
Failure to adopt IPv6 in the next 2-3 years could be damaging to the global economy because it would mean that new internet enabled devices would not have an IP address and would be unable to connect to the internet.
Recent estimates suggest that all of the remaining IPv4 addresses could be allocated to the five Regional Internet Registries (RIR) sometime next year with eventual exhaustion sometime during 2012.
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 by ensuring that internet service providers, businesses, and governments work to become IPv6 ready.
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Maybe if they made internet name squatting illegal, they would have enough names to go around! Fools!
While name squatting is a problem, it has nothing to do with internet addresses…
James, this has nothing to do with Internet names, the article is about IP addresses (numbers).