IPv6: America lagged behind

Fortune magazine has just released the results of a survey of 1,000 technology experts in the US, saying that 86% of them are concerned about the slow pace of US deployment of next-generation Internet - yes Call with the name "IPv6".

Most are concerned that China, India and many other European and Asian countries are moving faster in the process of implementing a new address system - IPv6. The new protocol will allow the creation of more web addresses, also better security than what the IPv4 platform is currently doing.

IPv4 uses 32-bit (4-byte) addresses, so the maximum address space can only reach 4.3 billion addresses (232).However, many of these are reserved for special purposes, such as private networks (~ 18 million addresses) or multicast addresses (~ 1 million addresses).

Meanwhile, IPv6 using 128-bit addresses should be able to provide an unlimited number of addresses (5x1028) - equivalent to the total number of atoms in the human body.

70% of respondents expressed concern about the current slow pace of IPv6 deployment in the US, and this will affect the country's ability to be at the forefront of technology.

Regarding security, 62% said that the leading in deploying IPv6 in these countries will make America "hurt". And 58% are concerned that the United States, not everyone else, will make the country's Internet unstable when it fails to upgrade and transition to the IPv6 platform.

The country that has pioneered and strongly implemented the most current IPv6 platform is China, with plans to use IPv6 network at the upcoming 2008 Olympics in Beijing.