On this, the fifth anniversary of World IPv6 Launch, we wish all our readers a Happy Launchiversary 2017!. It really is staggering how far IPv6 deployment has progressed in five years. In mid-2012, Google measured less than 1% of users accessing their services over IPv6. Today that figure is getting close to 20%. Since World IPv6 Launch, several major operators are now delivering the majority of traffic from major content sources like Google, Akamai and others over IPv6. Individual operators, like T-Mobile USA, have deployed IPv6-only networks for their subscribers.

How much progress have we made in the five years since World IPv6 Launch? All the details are included in a new landmark report from the Internet Society. While you download the report, here are the highlights:

✦  IPv6 has increased 3000% since the beginning of World IPv6 Launch five years ago.

✦  Deployment is occurring around the globe: Measurements show 37 countries exceed 5% of traffic is IPv6 to major content providers.

✦  Over 25% of the Alexa Top 1000 websites are reachable using IPv6.

✦  Some networks are now IPv6-only internally (e.g. JPNE, T-Mobile USA, SoftBank), and some major networks are now majority-IPv6 (e.g. RelianceJIO, Verizon Wireless, SkyBroadcasting, XS4ALL).

✦  Some organizations are in the process of turning off IPv4 within their networks and/or data centers to reduce network complexity and cost (e.g. T-Mobile, Facebook, LinkedIn).

✦  The Internet Society’s core recommendations are to: (a) start now if you haven’t already, (b) use established RFP requirements like RIPE-554: Requirements for IPv6 in ICT Equipment, and (c) take advantage of existing IPv6 deployment information including the Internet Society’s Deploy360 Program.

IPv6 use is set to continue growing for the rest of this year and beyond as more operators start and grow their deployments around the world, and new content and hosting providers enable IPv6 for their customers.

We will continue to publish monthly measurements of IPv6 deployment as the Launch continues around the world. If you’re a network operator deploying IPv6 and would like to join the other networks that make up the ranks of World IPv6 Launch participants, please register your network for measurement.

We’ve just published our final IPv6 Launch network operator measurement results update for 2015. What a remarkable year it has been for IPv6 deployment! We’ve seen new deployments from major operators all over the globe like Elion in Estonia, TELUS in Canada, GVT and Vivo in Brazil, KPN, University of Twente and Ziggo in the Netherlands, BSkyB in the UK, SKTelecom in South Korea, Comteco in Bolivia, and Mediacom, Centurylink and Premier Communications in the USA. Check out the earlier entries on this blog for all the highlights.

In 2015 we’ve also seen national IPv6 Launch events in Finland and Norway and major announcements from Apple relating to IPv6 requirements for iPhone Apps.

As a special year-end treat, and to highlight the enormous progress that IPv6 deployment has made in 2015, we’ve obtained aggregate data from our sources for the four major US mobile providers:

– Verizon Wireless (AS22394)
– T-Mobile USA (AS21928)
– Sprint Wireless (AS3651)
– AT&T Wireless (AS20057)

In aggregate, these providers now deliver 37.59% of their traffic over IPv6 to major IPv6-capable content providers. If 2015 has been a remarkable year, 2016 looks set to be the year that IPv6 becomes the dominant Internet Protocol for mobile networks in the US.

With real deployment of IPv6 happening around the world since the time of World IPv6 Launch, what does “success” look like? How much IPv6 traffic is “enough”? What are key milestones for IPv6 progress?

Those questions and more will be discussed by panelists at the Internet Society Briefing Panel at IETF 88 happening tomorrow, November 5, 2013, from 11:45-12:45 Pacific time (19:45-20:45 UTC) in Vancouver, BC, Canada.  As outlined in an Internet Society blog post, the panelists will include:

• Leslie Daigle, moderator, (Internet Society)
• John Brzozowski (Comcast Cable)
• Erik Nordmark (Arista)
• Chris Palmer (Microsoft)

The event will be streamed live via video and also streamed live via audio and also recorded for later viewing.