The available number of unallocated Internet addresses using the older IPv4 protocol has dropped below 10 percent, according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

ICANN says there are just 24 address blocks (each block is about 16-million IP addresses) that it has not yet allocated to the Regional Internet Registries around the globe.

The European Commission said today that it is setting a goal to get 25 percent of EU industry, public authorities and households to use IPv6 by 2010.

Wow. Is it really happening? Are we really going to run out of IP addresses? The answer is yes, but the outlook isn’t as bleak as it appears.

Wow. Is it really happening? Are we really going to run out of IP addresses? The answer is yes, but the outlook isn’t as bleak as it appears.

Wow. Is it really happening? Are we really going to run out of IP addresses? The answer is yes, but the outlook isn’t as bleak as it appears.

Wow. Is it really happening? Are we really going to run out of IP addresses? The answer is yes, but the outlook isn’t as bleak as it appears.

If this change didn’t take place, the average computer user would eventually notice; if nothing else, as we run out of Internet addresses, it seems like new corporations would wind up with some pretty odd websites.  The conversion to IP version 6 is starting, though, and it should prevent those problems.

The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) board of trustees passed a resolution recommending that the Internet technical community migrate a new version of the Internet Protocol, IPv6 will be needed to allow continued growth of the Internet.