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The switch occurred at 12 a.m. GMT Wednesday, when Internet operators switched to a new standard called IPv6 that allows for trillions of “IP” numbers or addresses, up from the current 4.3 billion.

“To ensure the Internet can continue to grow and connect billions more people and devices around the world, thousands of companies and millions of websites have now permanently enabled the next generation of Internet Protocol (IPv6) for their products and services,” the Internet Society, an advisory panel, said.

“Participants in World IPv6 Launch include the four most visited websites in the world — Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Yahoo! — as well as home router manufacturers and Internet Service Providers in more than 100 countries. By making IPv6 the ‘new normal,’ these companies are enabling millions of end users to enjoy its benefits without having to do anything themselves.”

Vint Cerf, one of the inventors of the Internet standard, who is now the “chief Internet evangelist” at Google, said the change gives the Internet room to grow.

“When the Internet launched operationally in 1983, its creators never dreamed that there might be billions of devices and users trying to get online,” he said.

“Yet now, almost three decades later, that same Internet serves nearly 2.5 billion people and 11 billion devices across the globe. And we’re running out of space.”

The full transition will take several years, and old IPv4 devices and networks should continue to function as before.