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Hong Kong supports adoption of IPv6HONG KONG, Jun 06, 2011 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Hong Kong government supports Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) adoption, and encourages information and communications technology sector organizations to take early action to enable their services to support it, the Office of the government chief information officer said Monday. To motivate organizations to move from Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) to IPv6, the international non-profit Internet Society has designated June 8 as World IPv6 Day, as a global initiative to test IPv6 readiness. Computers, mobile phones, electronic devices and sensors that are connected to the Internet need a unique Internet Protocol address to identify themselves and communicate with each other. The addresses used predominantly on the Internet are based on a communication standard commonly known as IPv4, which has a practical limit on the total number of addresses that can be issued. This supply of IPv4 addresses is running out. Newly developed Internet services are gradually adopting the new IPv6 standard which has a much higher theoretical limit on the number of IP addresses. However, services based on the IPv4 and IPv6 standards are not automatically compatible. The government has been adopting the IPv6 standard and promotes the gradual migration to it. The Internet infrastructure in Hong Kong already supports IPv6 and related commercial services are beginning to be made available in the market. The public can access the IPv6-ready Government websites and exchange Internet e- mails with the Government using that standard. On World IPv6 Day, major Internet service and content providers and industry players will turn on the IPv6 capability on their main websites for 24 hours from 8 a.m. on June 8 to 8 a.m. on June 9, Hong Kong time. |