Source: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/new ... itical-low
Experts give IPv4 addresses eighteen months
By David Neal
Tue May 11 2010, 02:10
THERE ARE ONLY 300 MILLION Internet protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses left and on 9 September, 2011 they will all be used up, according to a report by the BBC.
Mobile phones are said to be to blame for the massive consumption of IP addresses that are organised today using the IPv4 system. This is version four of the network address protocol that enables web pages to have an addressable numerical location.
The only hope for the interweb is Internet protocol version six (IPv6) that has trillions more addresses and if it is not adopted the last time that any IPv4 addresses will be available, says the BBC, is 9 September next year.
Aunty Beeb spoke to Axel Pawlik, managing director of Ripe NCC and he said, "This whole business of forecasting [IP address] depletion involves a little bit of reading the tea leaves. Ten years ago we said it would happen far in the future. Now we are all running around with Iphones, we're in that future."
We aren't all running around with Iphones, but we think we know what he means. These warnings have been around for some time, but few organisations have embraced IPv6, despite its many benefits.
According to others, IPv4 addresses are already reaching scarce as hen's teeth status and in some cases firms are having to prove that they have a genuine need for them. "You cannot just ask for more IP addresses," said Trefor Davies, chief technology officer at business ISP Timico. "You have to prove you need them. The registries will not let you have more until your reserves reach a certain threshold." µ
