CITEL Adopts LACNIC’s Recommendation on IPv6

27/06/2018

Member countries of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) that are member states of the OAS decided to strengthen their commitment to IPv6 deployment in the region, following the recommendation offered by LACNIC during the latest working meeting of this intergovernmental group.

The recommendation includes three parts (improving government networks, importing IPv6-ready equipment, and preserving citizens’ digital security) and is intended to be used as a basis to encourage legal or regulatory frameworks that promote IPv6 deployment, particularly in government networks.

First, the resolution seeks to enhance government networks through the purchase of IPv6-compatible equipment and services. This will prepare government agencies for proper deployment and will generate business for the industry by establishing the basis for future services, such as Smart Cities, the Internet of Things (IoT) and e-Government.

According to the resolution adopted following LACNIC’s recommendation, it is essential for online government services to support both IPv4 and IPv6, as this will promote IPv6 deployment.

Second, CITEL recommends importing IPv6-ready equipment, as the region of Latin America and the Caribbean runs the risk of receiving a significant number of devices that support only the IPv4 protocol, thus forcing certain countries to become the recipients of obsolete and outdated technology. This is why each country should develop a plan to limit or reject the import of IPv4-only devices and encourage the import of technology that supports both IPv4 and IPv6, following the standards defined by the IETF.

In the third part, LACNIC stresses the importance of preserving the population’s digital security and IPv6 deployment improves the traceability of online transactions in the event of a cybercrime. 

In this sense, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who implement IPv6 will be improving the traceability of transactions and will be able to map an IP address to a small group of subscribers, which is impossible to do with IPv4 when operators use intermediate mechanisms such as Carrier-Grade NATs (CGNs).

To reduce security and privacy concerns, CITEL recommends that operators implement IPv6 according to the technical specifications defined in RFC 7721.

LACNIC is open to cooperating with Member States to expand IPv6 knowledge and work together so that the recommendation will be useful for all Member States, said Cesar Díaz, Head of Strategic Relations and Telecommunications at LACNIC.

The regional RIR offers States its training programs and the help of its technical staff.