Paris: New Internet users or mobile devices will not be able to access the Internet as Internet address shortage was ticking and if current trends continue, addresses will run out by 2011.

Nearly 85 per cent of all available Internet addresses are already in use by May 2008, a new report by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said.

The report suggested that governments and business must work together more effectively and urgently to meet the growing demand for Internet addresses and secure the future of the Internet economy.

It also suggested to implement the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), which will provide an almost unlimited number of addresses and help drive the rollout of broadband, Internet-connected mobile phones and sensor networks and new Internet services.

The report said that governments and business should raise awareness of the need to start preparing now for the move to from today's Internet Protocol version 4 to IPv6.

They should also explain to Internet service providers and information and technology (IT) professionals that the move is a commercial and social opportunity, not a financial burden.

The report revealed that service providers have to date been reluctant to invest because customer demand for IPv6 is low.

Governments could play a role as a large user of Internet services by stimulating demand for IPv6 through their own procurement policies and through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in IPv6 research and development, the report added.

The OECD report also considered the alternative to a widespread adoption of IPv6 whereby some regions adopt it and others merely adapt IPv4 as a short-term solution.

This, it warns, would impact the economic opportunities offered by the Internet with severe consequences in terms of stifled creativity and deployment of new services.

"Some countries have taken a lead in deploying IPv6 networks," the report said, adding that the Japanese telecommunications firm NTT, for example, uses IPv6 to connect thousands of earthquake sensors via a computer system that sends automatic alerts to television programmes and turns traffic lights red.

The report further stated that the US government has set June 2008 as the deadline by which the Internet network of every government agency must be compatible with IPv6, while the European Commission is also funding research projects and looking at ways to speed up deployment.

Korea has committed to converting Internet equipment in public institutions to IPv6 by 2010 and to installing IPv6 equipment in every newly built communications network, the report added.

The OECD report said the Chinese government has begun rolling out an IPv6 network, called China Next Generation Internet, and will use the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to test mobile devices and intelligent transport and security systems running on IPv6.
—iGovernment Bureau