Actualizing sustainable Internet society (2)

Now, feel the weight of all those next billion users bearing down on us. Most will likely expect to connect to the Internet through devices that require individual IP addresses.

IPv6 integration has enjoyed success in recent years through support from government or industry standards bodies. For example:

• The IETF’s IPv6 working group has decided that its IPv6 development was complete. IPv6 development now goes on in the IPv6 Management working group, whose future work will be tweaks rather than major protocol development work.

• In September 2000, Prime Minister Mori of Japan identified IPv6 as a critical part of the eJapan 2005 initiative and initially offered tax incentives to corporations. Now that the initial financial incentive has given Japan an impetus for deployment the follow-through has been left to market forces.

• The Asia Pacific region is among the leaders in IPv6 deployment as measured by the number of IPv6 allocations to ISPs and the amount of space allocated. In particular, a bit more than one-third of the IPv6 space that has been allocated in the Asia Pacific region.

• The Chinese government created and financially supports CNGI, an IPv6 backbone network designed to be the core of China’s Internet infrastructure.

• The United States Department of Defense mandated the integration of IPv6 in June 2003 to be ready by 2008, and procurement mandates are in place.

• NIST is developing profiles that will apply to all US government agencies, and they will become mandatory in the near term.

However, the support of these institutions will only be justified when the majority of commercial ISP networks offer IPv6 services as part of their standard packages.

Indeed, support by commercial network operators is essential to maintain credibility.
A strong IPv6 deployment business case will not come from government support. It will come from cost savings, the potential for considerably larger networks, greater network stability and security, and the long-term potential for the creation of new and improved net-centric sets of products and services.

IPv6 can be used to solve real world problems that add value to organizations and have return on investment models attractive to management. Here are just three of the many very promising technologies where IPv6 will be a critical building block:

• Sensor Networks — A new concept, sensor networks can be found in manufacturing equipment, heavy machinery, security systems, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. But the concept of integrating all those proprietary systems into one communications system is still new. The use of monitoring systems to detect toxins and radioactivity in water systems, air filtration systems, or at airport or shipping terminals around the world has increased substantially.

• Product Tethering/Communities of Interest — Manufacturers would love to have relationships with their product once it leaves the factory. In a world where all things can be connected, the opportunity to create new value-added services is almost endless. Not only could the end users’ experience be enhanced, but manufacturers or their ISP partners could create new services not feasible in an IPv4 world.

• Ubiquitous Communications — With the increase in the number of mobile phone users, the expansion of Internet-related services through the cellular networks, and an increasing number of connection mediums — UMTS, WiFi, Wimax, UWB, and so on — there is a need for a uniform communications protocol that supports mobility and can handle a large number of devices.

Yet the need for increased communications, security and monitoring has to be offset against the cost of deploying and managing those systems. IPv6 offers a very stable and flexible platform that supports mobility, ad-hoc networking, and a large number of simple devices.

There remains a need for a coordinated effort to increase IPv6 awareness and advancement in three major areas:

• Strategic planning at the corporate level — the US Department of Defense is one example of a long term strategic planning by a large-scale organization

• Return on investment — the Chinese government, which has a 20-year plan to connect, is an example of long-term planning for ROI. Its entire industry, institutions and nations favoured by its central planning system

• Technical knowledge at a tactical level — 3GPP is an example of a Greenfield standard for next generation wireless with strategic thinking in terms of scale and dimension of the project

The OECD is studying the risk-reward ratio of businesses moving toward IPv6 sooner rather than later. We expect it to find that the cost of supporting IPv4 and interim network extension measures will increase sharply once end-user demand for IPv6-enabled devices, networks, and operating systems is coupled with the increasingly scarce supply of IPv4 addresses.

The introduction of the IPv6 address space is becoming increasingly critical to a sustainable Internet. ICANN is addressing this issue in cooperation with the Number Resource Organization and the Regional Internet Registries to support IPv6 in:

• Backend server support (EPP, RPP, IRIS, and the like)
• Front end website support
• IPv6 glue records in zone files
• IPv6 enabled registration services

ICANN is also working with the IETF and other organizations to ensure that IPv6 is first-class citizen in DNS root zone — and to ensure that IANA/ICANN does everything it can to support rapid and universal IPv6 deployment.

Ladies and Gentlemen
The Internet is the most powerful and pervasive means of empowering individuals in recent human history. It is part of the glue which ensures a rapid unleashing of humanity’s knowledge and possibilities for all persons no matter what age, sex, creed, class, ethnicity and — at least to some degree — wealth. And it is radically reducing transaction costs and barriers to markets across a globalized economy.

It requires the continuing efforts of all stakeholders, from governments, the private sector, civil society, academia, and the technical community to preserve and strengthen this model. By doing so, we can ensure its resiliency and utility — and guarantee the rapid and successful development of a secure, stable and globally interoperable Internet.

I would like to conclude with my strong recognition that effective participation will greatly and positively contribute to the Internet as a whole, bringing valuable and novel views to the dialogue from which the global community can benefit.

It’s always a pleasure to meet with colleagues to discuss the continuing evolution of the Internet. It has been my great pleasure to speak to you today, and I look forward to joining in your discussions throughout the rest of this conference.

Finally, I’d like to extend special gratitude to our hosts, whose efforts brought about this important conference.

.By Dr. Paul Twomey, ICANN President.

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