To all Member States of the OAS to URGENTLY request the Secretary General of the OAS to

The European Union publicly stated as early as 2001 that IPv4 is stifling its economic growth. The challenge does not come just from the effects of future address resource depletion. The European Union holds a leadership position in mobile GSM technologies and deployment but it lags behind the United States in the ICT sector, particularly in the area of IP communications. This is despite the fact that member states had significant contributions to the development of the IPv4 Internet that is mass adopted in the EU market. IPv6 by itself or in combination with the mobile technologies expertise and infrastructure is recognized as an opportunity to take a leadership role. The e-Europe policy highlights, within a larger context, the EU’s IPv6 adoption strategy.28

As will become apparent in the subsequent sections, most efforts and financial resources were directed toward research projects. Nevertheless, investments are being made in projects that leverage or promote IPv6. The U-2010 project (http://www.u-2010.eu/) will provide the integration of emergency response resources for better and faster resolution of incidents, and the infrastructure for this integration will be IPv6-based. The 6DISS project (http:// www.6diss.org/) established the European Union as a center of IPv6 expertise by disseminating across the world the expertise accumulated through various European-sponsored projects, primarily 6NET (www.6net.org). The Go4IT project (http://www.go4-it.org/) develops the infrastructure for a standardized approach to IP conformance testing. The European Union is a leader for many other communications technologies, but it still has to achieve the same stature for the Internet Protocol. IPv6 offers a unique opportunity to provide IP leadership.

27. Hyo-Jeoung Kim, “Korean IT Enterprises on a Mission to Popularize IPv6,” ZDNet Korea, August 31, 2007, http://www.zdnet.co.kr/etc/eyeon/network/0,39036963,39160893,00.htm.

28. Erkki Liikanen, “Towards the Next Generation Internet” (speech, Brussels, January 15, 2004), http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/04/18&format=HTML&aged=0 &language=EN&guiLanguage=en.

It is difficult to measure the immediate effects of the e-Europe strategy on IPv6 adoption in the European Union. Several successful research efforts and several highly publicized projects such as U-2010 did establish the European Union as a leader in the IPv6 community. On the other hand, there are few known large-scale commercial deployments even though RIPE NCC has the largest IPv6 address allocation. There is no definitive explanation for the large address space allocated in Europe. Large SPs such as France Telecom and Deutsche Telecom acquired significant address space (/19) that can be used for pan-European, converged IP infrastructures.

China

The rapid adoption of the Internet and the accelerated growth and modernization of the economy make IP addresses a strategic resource for China. IPv6 is a natural solution, although the inadequacy of the remaining IPv4 address space is not the primary driver. Chinese companies are receiving the IPv4 addresses requested from APNIC. The Chinese government views the adoption of IPv6 as an opportunity to take a leadership role, both in terms of technology and governance, in the new Internet. This is also viewed as an opportunity to develop the national ICT industry.

Although the government sponsored research on IPv6 for a long time, the first major step taken in implementing the national strategy on IPv6 was the launch of the China Next Generation Internet (CNGI) in November 2003. The government invested over $170 million in this project, which involved eight ministries, five major national carriers (China Telecom, China Unicom, China Netcom/CSTNET, China Mobile, China RailCom), and several national research networks, including CERNET. The core network was completed in 2005 and a panel of experts certified it in September 2006, hailing it as a major strategic achievement.29The public announcement of this important milestone placed little emphasis on the availability of IP addresses. Instead, it highlighted the fact that the infrastructure was a first in the world, that it was built with domestic routers, and that it used Chinese-developed technologies.

29. “China Leads Next Generation Internet Development,” Xinhuanet, September 24, 2006, http:// news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-09/24/content_5130188.htm.

CNGI is materializing as a first step in the government’s strategy to build an information-based country supported by an IPv6 infrastructure. It also provides the environment for the implementation of IPv6-related policies. IPv6 is a high- priority topic on the national economic and social development plan for the 2006– 2010 period. The CNGI network will be showcased as the communications platform for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.30

India

Similar to the infrastructure of other large Asian economies, India’s infrastructure requires significant resources. There are several drivers for strategic interest in IPv6. A significant portion of the GDP comes from Internet-enabled businesses offering service to remote markets. IP interconnection must be maintained regardless of the IP version preferred by the customers. Although the percentage of population with Internet access at home is smaller and its substitute is communal access points such as Internet cafes and mobile phones, adoption is widespread. To support the existing and rapidly growing infrastructure offering IP-based services, India will require the address resources of IPv6.

The importance of IPv6 was recognized at the governmental level by the release in August 2005 of a consultation paper compiled by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).31 It provides recommendations on the integration of and migration to IPv6. In November 2006, this paper was followed by a proposal to establish a government-sponsored conformance test environment in the Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC).32 This environment is tasked with certifying the IPv6 readiness, in accordance with the TRAI recommendations, of IP communications equipment vendors. TEC (http:// www.tec.gov.in/) is part of the Department of Telecom and its role is to specify common standards for telecom network equipment, identify generic and interface

30. Kaushik Das, “IPv6 and the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” IPv6.com, http://www.ipv6.com/articles/ general/IPv6-Olympics-2008.htm.

31. “Issues Relating to Transition from IPv4 to IPv6 in India,” http://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/ ConsultationPapers/6/conspaper26aug05.pdf.

32. “Invitation for Expression of Interest (EoI) for Participation in Programme for Establishing IPV6 Test & Certification Lab in Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) India,” http://

requirements, issue interface and service approvals, formulate standards, and interact with multilateral international agencies such as APT, ETSI, and ITU. The IPv6 conformance work is a first step by TEC in exerting its role in India’s strategy for IPv6 adoption. It will lead to more detailed criteria for product selection and establish a baseline at the national level.