Dubbed ‘World IPv6 Launch Day’ and backed by tech companies like Facebook, Yahoo!, Bing, Comcast, AT&T, Cisco, and more, June 6 will mark the day that several Internet companies turn on IPv6 networking technology on a permanent basis.
Short for Internet Protocol version 6, IPv6 provides an enormous amount of addresses as the current IPv4 is running out of them. There are over 1,500 websites and internet service providers in 22 countries who plan to enable IPv6, according to Arbor Networks who monitors internet traffic. According to Nominum, who surveyed 67 of the top ISPs in North America, Japan, Europe, and Latin America, nearly 60% plan to enable IPv6 by the end of 2012 (or have already done so) and 97% plan to by 2013 or at a later date.
There are, of course, some who do not yet plan to enable IPv6, but the June 6 launch day is considered momentous nonetheless. Advocates are encouraging ISPs, web companies, and others to prepare for IPv6 and permanently enable it as address space on IPv4 continues to be depleted. Making the switch is difficult and expensive, however, and those who plan to enable IPv6 have worked hard to make sure the switch is seamless. The goal is for the consumer to not notice the switch, according to Simon Hackett of Australian ISP Internode.
Usenet users have seen tremendous change in the online and Internet community since the inception of Usenet prior to the World Wide Web. With a vast community of tech savvy users, the World IPv6 Launch Day is sure to get plenty of chatter in newsgroups on June 6. Users, themselves, are likely even preparing for the switch as well.
