Internet Society Calls For Action On IPv6 Upgrade

The Internet Society (ISOC) says people and organisations at every level need to take action to protect the future of the Internet, and in particular to get moving on the deployment of IPv6, the next version of the Internet Protocol, which is intended to replace the current IPv4.

The Internet is often regarded as a utility, but it should not be taken for granted, warned Frederic Donck, director of the Internet Society’s European Regional Bureau, at an ISOC conference in London today called “Opportunities, threats and challenges to your business”.

“We all have to engage urgently as big decisions are currently being made on the future of the Internet that will have a direct impact on our business and social lives,” said Donck. “Complacency over such vital issues as net neutrality, security, privacy and IPv6 is simply not an option.”

IPv6 momentum growing

Speaking to eWEEK Europe about the specific need for content providers and Internet service providers to upgrade to IPv6, the Internet Society’s Matthew Ford (left) said that momentum is finally growing – particularly among mobile operators.

“Growth of broadband subscriptions in the UK is tapering off. Anyone who wants broadband in the UK has more or less got it,” said Ford. “The huge growth is in mobile broadband.”

He explained that consumers are increasingly expecting mobile broadband to behave exactly the same way as fixed networks, and the only way that operators can provide this experience is by using a public address. However, when operators apply to regional Internet registries, such as Ripe NCC, for new IPv4 addresses, their applications are being rejected, because there is not sufficient justification, given the limited supply of address space available.

“So they understand that they’re not going to get any more IP addresses and they’re trying to figure out what their best strategy is,” explained Ford. The choice for many is between ramping up their IPv6 deployment and network address translation (NAT), which enables multiple users to use a single IP address. According to Ford, this brings up a whole set of new legal and quality issues.

“If it’s a shared address, and some content provider claims that their copyright has been infringed, they go to the ISP, they say ‘We believe that this IP address has infringed our copyright, please give us the name and address details of this subscriber so we can pursue them through the courts’, and the ISPs will do that. But if that address is shared across multiple subscribers you’re stuck,” said Ford.

This also creates issues around the implementation of the Digital Economy Act, which aims to identify and punish illegal file-sharers.

Considering business risk

Content providers and ISPs are therefore much better off upgrading to IPv6, said Ford, but this requires investment and cannot happen overnight.

“In the short term it’s going to be a mix of ramping up IPv6 deployment – which for a large operator is going to mean a lot of training programmes for their engineers, training programmes for their support staff, a whole up-levelling of the education of the organisation about what this technology is – and in the meantime stop-gap measures, to continue to be able to provide service to new customers despite the fact that they are unable to get more address space.”

Businesses should not assume, however, that the transition to IPv6 is going to make their networks faster or more secure, or make mobility easier, said Ford. “Ultimately, IPv6 is not going to make a network more secure. It’s not going to make it any less secure. The way you manage security on IPv6 is really no different to the way you manage it on Ipv4. It’s really all about the address space,” he said.

What is worth considering, however, is the business risk. While many organisations are shying away from upgrading to IPv6, due to the investment needed and the lack of understanding, those that do not address the IPv6 deployment question could find themselves at a greater financial risk.

Moreover, as Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond of ISOC England pointed out, IPv4 addresses will not disappear once they have run out. “Of course there will always be companies or individuals who will be ready to resell IPv4 addresses to you for a fee,” he said. “The second-hand market for IPv4 might flourish one way or another, which of course will make it extremely expensive, and introduces a lot of opportunities for malware or scammers.”

“The Internet is changing whether you like it or not – the Internet is change. So even if you think you’re going to ignore IPv6 and you’ll be able to make this work, it’s not going to stop changing. In fact it’s just going to get painful in a different way.” said Ford.