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Congress To Study Slow Pace Of Migration To IPv6: Page 2 of 4

The DOD is traditionally in the vanguard of advancements in technology within the government sector.

The committee, according to spokesman White, will examine U.S. private sector initiatives as well as initiatives being made by foreign nations to move to IPv6. In informal meetings in the Washington area held after the unveiling of the GAO report, several participants said foreign nations have moved more aggressively than the U.S. to embrace the new upgrade.

Many critics in Washington fear foreign nations are moving ahead more aggressively with leading edge technologies than the U.S.

Actually, the wholesale move to the new version is already underway but because the transition technology is seamless, most users don't realize the move has begun. Most computers are compatible with IPv6, but many ISPs will have to install hardware and software for the upgrade, according to some Web experts.

The chief reason for the upgrade is to dramatically broaden the number of Web addresses to include not only the expected number of mobile connections, but also to prepare for a multiplicity of sensors that will likely be linked to the Internet in the future. The 4.3 billion Web addresses currently available on IPv4 pales compared with the number to be accommodated by the upgrade: 3.4 x 10 to the power of 38 -- virtually limitless.