An IP address is the only way to identify a device and transmit data on the Internet, whereby even the domain name of a website needs to be converted into an IP address before it can be accessed by users. IP addresses currently fall into two kinds: IPv4 and IPv6. Statistics of APNIC indicate that on Oct 3 2020, IPv6 usage in Taiwan exceeded 50 percent for the first time, placing Taiwan sixth in the world in this regard. This suggests that the IPv6 addresses have already penetrated deep into the online service throughout the nation.

Since only approximately 4.3 billion IPv4 addresses were made available, far fewer than the global population, this became a crucial issue with the increasing ubiquity of internet use worldwide. By Feb. 3 2011, the IPv4 addresses had almost been exhausted; the RIRs had none to allocate and only a handful of IP addresses were available at internet registries. In response, the most effective way to alleviate this concern was to activate IPv6 addresses, extending the length of an IP address from 32 bits (IPv4) to 128 bits (IPv6), allowing for four times as many addresses (4.3 billion to the power of 4). With this quantity, it is estimated everyone on the planet may have up to a million IP addresses, or, in other words, there can now be up to 1,000 IP addresses per square meter worldwide. In simple terms, switching to IPv6, once and for all resolves the issue of a lack of available IP addresses.

Consequently, IPv6 address have become the necessary foundation for the development of new technologies and applications, such as those driven by IoT trends and 5G mobile communication standards. Moreover, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has adopted the IPv6 environment as the standard environment for new protocols. In response to new protocols developed for wider bandwidth, broader coverage and ultra-low delays of 5G, the IPv6 environment is essential to achieve greater performance.

With view to converting this solid foundation of IPv6 usage into tangible technological and industrial development, NCC plans to launch a pilot plan in 2022 focusing on the new technical standards that IETF is developing by seeking experts that can form a development task force. The aim of this task force would be to help domestic industries and academic circles realize the potential and benefits of such internet standards with the objective of not only to ensuring a valuable head start in the innovation of 5G applications, but also expanding our advantages in terminal equipment and applications deep into the next generation of the 6G network.