Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Editorial: America must invest in next-gen Internet
The world is switching to a new version of the Internet, as America dawdles.
From the RoundTable blog
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Spam, spyware and viruses get the most attention, but a far greater problem faces the Internet: It is running out of addresses for computers. The tech-heads have a solution, but the federal government is dragging its feet on implementing a larger, faster, more-secure Internet.
Computers and devices attached to the Internet identify each other with Internet Protocol addresses. The current addressing system, Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), employs four numbers from 0 to 255 for each computer, which allows 4.3 billion unique addresses.
That might sound like a lot, but it is less than one address per person in the world. With a growing number of devices such as cellphones, Blackberries and even cars attaching to the Internet, there are not enough to go around.
Enter IPv6 -- version 5 was an experimental protocol that never left the lab. We have the technology. We can rebuild the Internet better than it was before. Better, stronger, faster.
IPv6 has been around for a few years. It uses a new addressing scheme that allows 340 undecillion addresses. That's 34 followed by 37 zeroes, enough addresses to meet current and future demand for a long, long time.
This improved protocol is also more secure, more efficient and faster than version 4, opening the door for new information technologies. Moreover, it can handle priority data routing. In an emergency, critical government data would move across a congested Internet first.
Most home computer users will neither notice the change nor bear additional cost. As they buy computers in the normal course of upgrades, new hardware and software will work with IPv6.
The federal government, however, faces a daunting task and price tag. The Office of Management and Budget has set a June 2008 deadline for federal agencies to switch to the new protocol.
Yet nearly every department is behind schedule, and no one has figured out how to pay the bill for the full transition, an estimated $25 billion to $75 billion.
America cannot afford to lag behind on this critical infrastructure improvement. Countries such as Japan, China and Taiwan are actively improving their networks.
If the United States is to remain competitive with them, it must invest in the transition now, developing strategic partnerships with the private companies that have the expertise to implement the next generation of the Internet.
