Federal CIOs Asking about IPv6-Only

In a largely overlooked news item a few weeks ago, Federal CIOs asked for advice on transitioning to IPv6-only:

The Federal CIO Council is performing market research on evolving Federal networks and information services to IPv6-only systems. ACT-IAC is facilitating conversations with industry to identify significant barriers, risks and opportunities for innovation that can be foreseen with this potential strategy. Questions: Do you see any overarching problems or risks in moving to IPv6-only? Is this migration something your services/products can support? To what degree do you test your products to operate in an IPv6-only environment? What type of feedback (from partners or stakeholders) would federal agencies receive as they migrate to an IPv6-only environment?

No reports have come out of that meeting. It suggests that Federal CIOs are considering such a strategy. This would be different than the 2010 mandate from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) because, rather than a top-down, unfunded mandate, it is coming from the CIOs, the people responsible for managing the networks themselves.

No one expects government agencies to move quickly. Even if the US federal government does begin such a migration, it is likely to take ten years. If both civilian and defense agencies moved in coordination, it would indicate a huge push for IPv6, and likely become the de facto mandate for everyone to transition.

This may affect the IPv4 address market, though maybe not in the short term. If it becomes generally accepted that by 2030 growth will no longer require additional IPv4 addresses, then the market will gradually reflect that expectation.