Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is the latest service provider to confirm its participation in World IPv6 day on June 8, an event that will enable the service provider and its customers to test IPv6 capabilities.
As the first global scale production trial of IPv6, Verizon and other service providers (ISPs, website owners, hardware and software manufacturers) will enable IPv6 addressing on their main services and test their readiness to support the protocol.
While the World IPv6 Day is new, IPv6 is not foreign to Verizon as the company and the former MCI that it acquired to former Verizon Business in 2006 have been delivering IPv6 capabilities via its vBNS (very high speed backbone network service) since 1998.
Similar to other large service providers like AT&T and Sprint, Verizon is running IPv6 in a dual stack mode that allows simultaneous support of IPv4 and IPv6, a process that will enable end-customers to access necessary IP networks and services via IPv4 and IPv6. In addition, the dual stack mode will give businesses a foundation to transition to IPv6 while leveraging the IPv4 protocol for their everyday tasks like web browsing and e-mail.
Already supported on its next-gen LTE wireless service, Verizon recently enabled its Internet Dedicated Services with IPv6 capabilities with a set of complementary consulting services to help enterprises and government agencies make the transition to IPv6 tailored to their specific needs. While it has not announced any specific other IPv6-enabled services yet outside of a short trial they conducted in its Virginia-based FiOS network, Verizon over time plans to offer a growing suite of IPv6-enabled services.
For more:
- see the release
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