Page 12 - SAMENA Trends - October 2021

SAMENA COUNCIL ACTIVITY SAMENA TRENDS

Call-to-Action by SAMENA Council

to Accelerate IPv6 Migration

We need to promote IPv6 industry development and, collectively, should muster up the will
and determination to plan ahead and accelerate IPv6 transition. Not only does this open
new door of opportunity across business, society, security, and overall sustainability of the
ecosystem; it will literally help create the Intelligent Internet of everything, which is the
ultimate goal of digitalization transformation. By ensuring a timely and effective transition
towards IPV6 and taking steps to facilitate peering and interconnection between networks,
the Internet in the SA-ME-NA region can continue to deliver on its potential, leading to
economic growth in the region.

SAMENA Council views that, in order to achieve accelerated transition from IPv4 to IPv6, the
Private and Public sectors need to consider some important factors that can contribute in
the right direction when it comes to IPv6:

1. Global IPv6 deployment is vital to the national IPV6 Task Force in Saudi Arabia
continued growth and stability of the and TRA in the United Arab Emirates
Internet. This alone is a major reason to 6. Funding mechanisms being discussed
accelerate collaboration to overcome to accelerate meaningful connectivity
challenges in transitioning from IPv4 to (and to connect the remaining 46% of the
IPv6. world’s population), similar approaches
2. Private-sector entities should aim for may be necessary to fund IPV6 transition
realizing rich interconnectivity, and 7. Regionals Governments should play
should aim for building consensus their role in driving adoption of IPv6,
on approaches to implement IPV6 as communicating IPv6 as a national priority,
smoothly as possible and encouraging cross-stakeholder and
3. The transition from IPv4 to IPv6 has its cross-industry participation in capacity-
own Cybersecurity/network security, building opportunities
and infrastructure/asset security 8. Policymakers and regulators should
considerations, which demand timely incentivize investments and “future-
placement in the agenda of the industry proof” those physical infrastructure and
4. While transitioning or thinking transition, cloud investments
it may be necessary to create learning 9. Accelerated cooperation building for
modules that would allow for gaining harmonized adoption of 5G and to make
understanding necessary for their role proper use of Ultrabroadband networks,
to manage the changes coming with the timely adoption of IPv6 is critical
shift from IPv4 to IPv6 10. Transforming networks in terms of
5. The region’s economic development artificial intelligence, cost-cuttings, and a
is greatly dependent on robust ICT/IT host of other features, transition to IPv6+ is
infrastructure, and thus the private sector a milestone for which all mobile networks
should work in synch with entities like the should aim

12 OCTOBER 2021