Comcast on July 22 announced that its broadband network is fully deployed to support IPv6 dual stack connectivity. The announcement comes on the heels of the second anniversary of World IPv6 Launch.
Comcast has surpassed 30 percent IPv6 deployment overall, according to July 2014 launch measurements published last week by the Internet Society. AT&T has crossed the 20 percent mark and Time Warner Cable the 10 percent IPv6 deployment level. Verizon Wireless’s IPv6 deployment, the Internet Society reported, reached 53.55 percent.
Highlighting the significance of the achievement, Comcast stated, “The deployment of IPv6 is a critical step in supporting the growing needs of the Internet, as IPv4 resources, engineered and brought to fruition over 30 years ago, continue to dwindle due to the explosion of devices hooked into the global network.
“The deployment of IPv6 is also a necessary step as the ‘Internet of Things’ – devices that leverage a broadband infrastructure in order to think and function – continues to rise, and as next generation network technologies, like IPv6 Segment Routing and Service Function Chaining, begin to take shape.”
Comcast IPv6 Future Plans
Comcast expects its IPv6 penetration to reach nearly 50 percent by the end of 2014. Looking further out, the cable MSO’s IPv6 plans include support for more residential devices, as well as the launch of IPv6 capability for Business Internet customers.
Comcast’s plans also include leveraging IPv6 to support both the Xfinity X1 platform and Xfinity Voice services, trials of which are slated for later this year. The company also recently launched IPv6 support for its NBCUniversal digital properties, including nbc.com, nbcsports.com and universalstudios.com.
