The next version of the IP standard IPv6, which can hold up to 340 trillion trillion trillion addresses, is set for launch on June 6.
Major ISPs such as US-based AT&T and Comcast, and the Dutch XS4, among others, have promised to enable at least 1% of their fixed lines subscribers to visit IPv6 wesbites.
Cisco and D-Link say they aim to enable IPv6 on all their home router products by the stipulated date.
Facebook Infrastructure Engineering vice-president Jay Parikh said IPv6 is crucial to keep the internet open and enable people to be connected as the number of users and web devices increases to continue.
Two content delivery firms – Akami and Limelight – have also promised to allow their customers to join the IPv6 band by enabling the new protocol through their infrastructure.
Operational experience and measurements on World IPv6 Launch will help content providers will help to identify and rectify any potential problems, said Amsterdam-based RIPE NCC, which allocates IP addresses in Europe and Asia.
The IPv4 has 4bn addresses and the ICANN is soon about to exhaust with handing out these, owing to the growth of smartphones, PCs and other web devices.
70% of more than 1600 organisations plan to adopt IPv6 by the end of 2012, according to a study by Global IPv6 Deployment Monitoring Survey.
The RIPE NCC, a not-for-profit organisation that is responsible for the allocation of IP addresses in Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia, highlights this as a key date for the future growth of the Internet.
"With IPv4 exhaustion fast approaching, it is vital that Internet services are accessible over both IPv4 and IPv6. At the same time, ISPs will have to offer production grade IPv6 connectivity. This is the only way to ensure a consistent user experience once we reach IPv4 exhaustion," said Daniel Karrenberg, chief scientist, RIPE NCC. "Operational experience and measurements on World IPv6 Launch will help content providers and ISPs to identify and rectify any potential problems with delivering services over IPv6."
Cisco CEO John Chambers added: "IPv6 is important to all of us. It is critical to the continued growth of the Internet, bringing together people and devices around the globe. As a leader in the development of IPv6 since its inception, Cisco is excited to be an integral part of the industry working together toward the World IPv6 Launch organised by the Internet Society. In addition to the continued support for IPv6 we have in our products today, we will be joining other websites around the world by permanently enabling IPv6 on www.cisco.com, as well as enabling IPv6 by default on our new line of E-series home routers."
