Safaricom looks to ‘infinite’ IPv6 possibilities
Safaricom is looking to the future to hold its lead in the region in broadband services.
As the internet nears the end of its Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) address pool, Internet Service Providers, mobile operators and user organisations alike, are looking to make the transition to the new generation called IPv6.
These protocols provide IP addresses, the “phone numbers” for the Internet that are responsible for identifying computers and devices so that they can communicate.
Safaricom, is the first mobile operator in Africa to open up its network for IPv6 testing, having already started planning for a migration to the platform two years ago.
IPv6 is designed to solve many of the problems of IPv4, including mobility, auto-configuration, and overall extensibility and expands the address space on the Internet supporting a nearly unlimited number of devices that can be directly connected to the Internet.
Nzioka Waita Safaricom’s Director of Corporate Affairs said the company saw the need to move from the finite IPv4 platform because of the trajectory internet and technology are taking toward machine to machine communication.
