Internode to make IPv6 mainstream

Internode is spearheading an initiative to make Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) take off in Australia, announcing today that all new customers will have IPv6 enabled by default.

The last of the 4.3 billion Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses were dished out in February last year, meaning that as the number of people and devices connected to the internet continues to grow, it will be vital for the world to shift to IPv6 in order to cope with demand.

Internode has offered IPv6 to ADSL customers since 2009, and has been offering "dual-stack" routers that assign internet users with both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, meaning that the transition to IPv6 is relatively seamless.

As part of a global push for ISPs to get 1 per cent of customers on IPv6 by the middle of this year, Internode managing director Simon Hackett today announced that IPv6 would be the default for new Internode customers.

"It's time to jump in — the water's fine," he said in a statement.

"We're at the stage in IPv6 deployment where it's time for major internet service providers to make it a transparent part of their customers' experience."

Existing Internode customers can turn on IPv6 through the Internode toolbox, and the routers that Internode offers are all IPv6 compatible, Hackett said.

"Internode has enabled native IPv6 by default for all new customers, and all the Fritz!Box and Billion routers we sell now come with 'IPv6 inside'. Our experience shows us that IPv6 is now fully capable of providing seamless, uninterrupted and efficient access to the internet, dual-stacked with IPv4."

The announcement came ahead of a World IPv6 Launch day on 6 June 2012. AT&T, Comcast, Free Telecom, KDDI, Time Warner Cable and XS4ALL are the only other ISPs to sign up at this point.

Google, Yahoo, Bing and Facebook will all enable IPv6 on their sites permanently, and Cisco and D-Link have committed to offering a range of products that have IPv6 by default by 6 June.

The Internet Society's chief internet technology officer Leslie Daigle said that the strong support for the day showed that "IPv6 is no longer a lab experiment".

"And, as there are more IPv6 services, it becomes increasingly important for companies to accelerate their own deployment plans," she said in a statement.