IPs could run out by 2012

U.S. slow updating address protocol

With so many people connecting to the Internet with so many different devices, computer experts say we're facing a shortage in the United States. IP addresses are likely to run out between 2010 and 2012, says Sam Masud, a principal analyst at Frost & Sullivan in San Antonio.

The Internet protocol, or IP, address is the series of unique numbers that identify any device that connects to the Web or other similar networks. Think of it as the telephone number for your computer.

Your laptop has one. Your cell phone probably does too. Count your computer at work and your Blackberry or Treo handheld device, and you're up to four. And that's just for one person.

Most devices currently use Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4), but the demand for more addresses -- especially in the exploding Asian online market -- has forced the creation of a sixth version, IPv6. However, very few domestic carriers have switched over to the new language, Masud said. More progress has been made in Asia.

BILLION VS. UNDECILLION

Masud compares the IP problem to telephone number shortages of the past. There are only so many of those available before you have to create a new area code, Masud said.

While there are about 4.3 billion unique IPv4 addresses, the IPv6 system affords 340 undecillion. (Take the number 340. Add 36 zeroes to it.)

Masud said no one's sure how long the IPv6 addresses will last, but experts view the system as "practically infinite."

Other advantages to the new version include embedded security precautions, better support for features like gaming, instant messaging, voice and video. It also lets users stay hooked to the Internet more easily when they move from place to place. For example, a person could go from coffee shop to taxi to airport without having to disconnect or switch carriers, Masud said.

GOVERNMENT REACTION

To fight the problem, the White House's Office of Management and Budget issued a memo in August asking all federal agencies to switch to IPv6 by June 2008.

"Our government is trying to do its best to move the country along, but it's not going to be so easy to do it," Masud said. He created a presentation to raise awareness of the issue after the government memo was released.

He also foresees problems if the federal government is on IPv6, while state governments still are on IPv4. Machines using the different versions wouldn't be able to communicate directly, creating the need for cumbersome patches, he said.

ASIAN FACTOR

The United States is lagging Asian countries including China, South Korea and Japan, which have already started switching over to IPv6, Masud said.

"We're the country that invented IP, so we really ought to be ahead of everyone," Masud said. "The problem is in the U.S. no one is paying attention to it."