IPv4 is considered to be lagging behind in meeting the increased demand of IP
addresses and support for quality of service, mobility and security
The Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued recommendations to the
government on transition from IPv4 to IPpv6.
In a letter addressed to the
Department of Information Technology (DIT), TRAI has recommended the government
to encourage IPv6 deployment in the country. According to TRAI the existing
version of Internet protocol, IPv4 is considered to be lagging behind in meeting
the increased demand of IP addresses and support for quality of service,
mobility and security.
In the letter addressed to
Secretary DIT, Brijesh Kumar TRAI suggested that IPv6, which is the next
generation Internet protocol, has capacity to expand the available address
space on the Internet enormously in addition to providing better support for
quality of service, mobility support and security. It said that the definition
of IP address mentioned in ISP license was to be amended to enable 128 bits to
be used as needed for IPv6 based addressing, in place of 32 bits at present.
“Many developing countries
of Asia Pacific region are engaging in large-scale deployment of IPv6, but in
our country the uptake of IPv6 is not satisfactory and hence some policy
initiatives are required to accelerate the policy. The migration to IPv6 is
considered necessary in view of fast expanding Internet usage and increased
demand on the IP address space,” TRAI stated.
It also suggested that the
usage of IPv6 in applications pertaining to e-governance to be mandated, so that
headstart is taken for IPv6 deployments. According to TRAI government should
also mandate IPv6 compatibility in its own procurement of IT systems and
networks.
TRAI had put up draft recommendation
on its website for the comments of various stakeholders on this subject.
After taking into account the comments submitted by various stakeholders
on draft recommendations TRAI finalized its recommendations, pertaining to
policy initiatives required for expediting the IPv6 migration in the country.
TRAI had issued a consultation paper on 'Issues Related to Transition from
IPv4 to IPv6 in India' in August 2005.