UK businesses are risking their online future by not switching to IPv6, Google’s chief internet evangelist and Web forefather Vint Cerf claims.
Cerf said the government should implement a form of scrappage scheme to encourage businesses to switch from their current IPv4 addresses, which are rapidly dwindling on a global basis and are tipped to run out in the UK within two years.
“Creating some business incentive might be helpful,” Cerf said in a keynote at the launch of 6UK a body established to lead the transition to the latest web standard, eweekeurope.com reported.
Cerf said the government should do more to encourage the switch after Department for business spokesman David Hendon told the event that the government’s main role in the transition is raising awareness of the need to change.
The Google staffer warned that growth in online services could start to falter within six months if action isn’t taken, FT.com reported.
The RIPE NCC regional internet registry for EMEA has allocated around a million trillion trillion IPV6 addresses to the UK from a total of 27 million trillion trillion issued in EMEA to date, 6UK revealed to Telecoms Europe.net.
“Most networking hardware and computer systems in use today already speak IPV6 – it’s just not switched on,” 6UK spokesman Jim Reid said. “One of the jobs for 6UK is to help organizations audit their infrastructure and develop migration plans.”
Asia Pacific’s APNIC registry has also warned of the need to switch to IPv6, with chief scientist Geoff Huston reckoning the dwindling supply of IPv4 addresses will be one of the most crucial issues facing businesses in the region in the next three years.