Telstra offers IPv6 to businesses, government

Timeframes uncertain for consumers.

Telstra has begun offering Internet Protocol version 6 compatibility to government and enterprise customers after completing rollout of the protocol to its internet backbone.

The transition to a dual stack IPv4/v6 environment makes the telco one of few Australian companies to make the switch, following Internode which completed a network-wide transition earlier this month.

Service provider TPG has also been known to be trialling the protocol for customers and over its PIPE peering exchanges, though has yet to officially offer support.

As with Internode's rollout, the Telstra offering would be opt-in to prevent potential incompatibilities with existing routing equipment.

"We have had a long-term roadmap for deploying IPv6 capability into our networks, and are pleased that the first of many access options are now available for our customers to commence their transition to IPv6," Telstra director of transport and routing, David Robertson, said in a statement.

The company had already migrated several "major" customers, according to a company spokesman.

Robertson did not reveal timeframes around when IPv6 would be made available to consumers over Telstra's wireless network or its BigPond cable and ADSL services.

"In coming years we expect that IPv6 will become the norm and customers will need to opt-out if they wish to use IPv4. However in the early phases of the transition, we'll be working directly with customers to support them as they make this change," he said.

Despite the exhaustion of standard IPv4 address allocations globally and within Asia Pacific earlier this year, IPv6 rollout has been slow, with concerns some telcos had stockpiled IPv4 addresses to avoid such a transition.