IPv6 enables technology for next generation solutions

The Internet explosion has become an everyday supernova. The Web has become a household fixture. Today’s world is driven by information; the Internet boom reverberates with constant upgrades, reacting to the unwritten 18-month obsolescence rule. Broadband Internet subscribers have grown from 10 million to 100 million over the last three years, and they want unmatched connectivity like never before.

With the number of Internet users expanding astronomically on a monthly basis, one questions how the information superhighway can possibly be able to accommodate them all. Despite all the breakthroughs in technology today, security advancements are lagging; it is more difficult to operate within public and private networks, and connectivity for remote areas is slow and costly.

On top of that are the growing trends of peer-to-peer computing, personal Web pages and mobile Internet. More problems continue to arise as more people continue to go online, because the fact is there are only a very limited number of available IP addresses left. How then, are providers of Internet services going to support the increasing number of subscribers without diminishing the quality of connectivity?

The answer was revealed at PLDT Innolab, during an executive briefing to government officials, technology experts, CTOs and CIOs of various corporations.

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., in partnership with Microsoft Phils., Cisco Systems Phils., the Advanced Science and Technology Institute, and InfoWeapons, held this exclusive event to discuss what is now being dubbed as the "next generation Internet technology." The phenomenon backed by all this hype is called IPv6, the latest innovation in Internet Protocol.

IPv4

Its predecessor, IPv4, was created when there were about 200 nodes on the entire Internet. Today, there are about 200 million that exist, and a limited amount of IP addresses left to accommodate them. Although several attempts have been made to avoid an overflow of subscribers, this can no longer be contained by IPv4 addresses alone.

Lawrence Hughes, CTO and founder of InfoWeapons Corp. and co-founder of CipherTrust, said, "I have been working in the IT business for 33 years, and for 33 years, the Internet has been running on IPv4 addresses. It’s about time we acknowledge and consider the benefits of incorporating IPv6."

What IPv6 aims to do is support the astronomical growth of the Internet without the present workarounds such as the Network Address Translation. It has been engineered in such a way that it will integrate itself smoothly into a network that is presently dominated by IPv4. Both will be able to function simultaneously, serving as platforms for Internet subscribers to secure hassle-free connectivity.

However, IPv6 also offers much more than just a larger volume of available IP addresses. It also offers better routing and automatic configuration, better security in utilizing data encryption, better audio and video streaming, and the ability to send much larger amounts of data at a time.

Soon, there will be such a thing as IPTV, and all data services in the future will be able to migrate to IPv6. Because of the copious possibilities that this will bring about, IPv4 will eventually become obsolete.

Eric Alberto, PLDT SVP and head of the Corporate Business Group, said, "We are sitting on a ticking time bomb that is ready to explode in the near future. With the help of IPv6, we at PLDT are ready to enable our subscribers with the technology to transition gracefully into the next generation."

Tremendous benefit

Introducing IPv6 to the Philippines will be of tremendous benefit to the country. It is taking off as a genuinely Asian technology, with its main proponent – Japan – at the epicenter of IPv6 development.

The very first Asian IPv6 Summit will be held in Manila this coming September. For the Philippines, attaining expertise in IPv6 is a prospect for more investments to be made in the country.

Commissioner Damian Domingo Mapa, in his opening speech, said, "Technology is (an) imperative of progress. The more technology we use, the more competitive and productive we are as a nation."

Indeed, IPv6 has the revolutionary power to allow the Philippines to become an internationally competitive country. Armed with the full support of the government, it will not only be able to merit global recognition, but also aid in the improvements that need to be made within the country itself.

Mapa said, "Technology lately has been resurgent in how it can spread the results of its development to the rest of the country. We at CICT are very happy to participate in PLDT’s initiative to disseminate information to the nation."

The arrival of IPv6 marks the culmination of combining government, scientific and technological expertise and will yield tremendous results for the Philippines. It is proof that technology truly has the potential to change the lives of every Filipino and take the country into the next generation. Buckle up.