Axel Pawlik, chair of the Number Resource Organisation (NRO), discusses the findings of a new status report on Internet number resources.

As the pool of unallocated IPv4 addresses has dwindled to less than 7.8 per cent, national and local governments are urged to take the lead in adopting the next generation of IP addressing, IPv6, to protect the sustainable growth of the global Internet economy.

The NRO’s report has found that demand for both IPv4 and IPv6 address space is continuing to grow. The Internet Number Resource Status Report for the first quarter of 2010 is based on data collected by the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs ) that manage the global allocation of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.

The report shows that allocations of IPv4 addresses in Q1 reduced the pool of unallocated IPv4 addresses to 8.5 per cent, and at present less than 7.8 per cent of IPv4 address space remains.

A key driver for the increasing rate of IPv4 allocations is the rapid growth in the number of Internet connected devices worldwide. More and more consumers in developed economies use their mobile phone to surf the Web, and Internet-connected handsets are likely to be crucial in bringing the next billion users online, especially in emerging markets. The NRO’s latest figures show a significant increase in new IP address requests from developing countries, whose populations are coming online more quickly than ever before.

The surge in mobile Internet access worldwide and the so-called ‘Internet of Things’, whereby everything from TVs and gaming consoles to cars and refrigerators, are equipped with network connectivity, is  putting the global infrastructure of the Internet under a lot of pressure. Each device that is connected to the Internet requires an IP address, and it has been estimated that the IPv4 address pool will be completely exhausted in 2011.   

Key findings of the NRO’s status report include:
•    During Q1 2010, APNIC, the RIR for the Asia Pacific, allocated nearly 27 million IPv4 addresses to its members, more than any RIR has ever issued in a single quarter.
•    APNIC issued 186 IPv6 allocations in the first quarter of 2010 – that is more allocations in three months than it has ever made in any single year.
•    For only the second time, LACNIC, the RIR for Latin America and the Caribbean, issued more IPv4 address space than ARIN, the RIR for Canada, many Caribbean and North Atlantic islands and the United States.
•    Overall, the five RIRs saw an increase of nearly 30 per cent in the amount of IPv6 address space allocated in 2009, which is an encouraging sign that more organizations are preparing for the transition from IPv4 to the new addressing protocol.

With limited IPv4 addresses remaining, deployment of IPv6 is critical to the continued development of the Internet. To accelerate IPv6 uptake worldwide, the NRO is urging national governments to take the lead in deploying IPv6 and to work together with the technical community and the private sector. They need to use the power they hold as major procurers of technology and content providers to help persuade vendors to develop and market IPv6 compatible hardware and software.

Government organisations also need to collaborate closely with the Internet community to ensure that organisations and citizens stay connected. The RIRs, working individually and collectively as the NRO, offer technical training for public sector representatives and invite government organisations to participate in conferences to learn about the implications of IPv4 depletion for the global Internet economy and the need to act now on IPv6. By working together with commercial organisations and the Internet community, government organisations can ensure that everyone will be able to benefit from the growth of the digital economy now and in the years to come.