Two economic perspectives on the IPv6 transition

Purpose – IPv6 is the replacement for the Internet’s incumbent protocol, IPv4. IPv6 adoption is required to allow the Internet to continue to grow; however, there has been almost no uptake since its standardisation in the late 1990s. This paper seeks to explain how this non-adoption may be a conse...

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Main Author: Dell, Peter
Format: Journal Article
Published: Camford Publishing Ltd 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46263
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author Dell, Peter
author_facet Dell, Peter
author_sort Dell, Peter
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Purpose – IPv6 is the replacement for the Internet’s incumbent protocol, IPv4. IPv6 adoption is required to allow the Internet to continue to grow; however, there has been almost no uptake since its standardisation in the late 1990s. This paper seeks to explain how this non-adoption may be a consequence of current policies paradoxically intended to promote IPv6. Design/methodology/approach – Economic theories of exhaustible resources and permit markets are used to provide an explanation for the lack of adoption of IPv6. Findings – The current policy approach will not yield a significant adoption of IPv6 until after the IPv4 address space is exhausted and may also constrain Internet growth after IPv4 exhaustion occurs. Practical implications – Current policies intended to promote IPv6 diffusion through the Internet must be reconsidered. The economics of permit markets in particular can inform discussions about IPv4 address transfer markets. Originality/value – Economic analyses of IPv6 adoption are almost non-existent and very few prior studies are known. This paper helps to rectify this important gap in the literature.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-462632017-09-13T16:07:08Z Two economic perspectives on the IPv6 transition Dell, Peter exhaustible resources IPv6 technology diffusion IPv4 permit markets Purpose – IPv6 is the replacement for the Internet’s incumbent protocol, IPv4. IPv6 adoption is required to allow the Internet to continue to grow; however, there has been almost no uptake since its standardisation in the late 1990s. This paper seeks to explain how this non-adoption may be a consequence of current policies paradoxically intended to promote IPv6. Design/methodology/approach – Economic theories of exhaustible resources and permit markets are used to provide an explanation for the lack of adoption of IPv6. Findings – The current policy approach will not yield a significant adoption of IPv6 until after the IPv4 address space is exhausted and may also constrain Internet growth after IPv4 exhaustion occurs. Practical implications – Current policies intended to promote IPv6 diffusion through the Internet must be reconsidered. The economics of permit markets in particular can inform discussions about IPv4 address transfer markets. Originality/value – Economic analyses of IPv6 adoption are almost non-existent and very few prior studies are known. This paper helps to rectify this important gap in the literature. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46263 10.1108/14636691011057046 Camford Publishing Ltd fulltext
spellingShingle exhaustible resources
IPv6
technology diffusion
IPv4
permit markets
Dell, Peter
Two economic perspectives on the IPv6 transition
title Two economic perspectives on the IPv6 transition
title_full Two economic perspectives on the IPv6 transition
title_fullStr Two economic perspectives on the IPv6 transition
title_full_unstemmed Two economic perspectives on the IPv6 transition
title_short Two economic perspectives on the IPv6 transition
title_sort two economic perspectives on the ipv6 transition
topic exhaustible resources
IPv6
technology diffusion
IPv4
permit markets
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46263