RIPE NIC: ‘In Five Weeks We’ll Run Out of IPv4 Internet Addresses’

An anonymous reader quotes ISP Review: The RIPE Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC), which manages regional distribution of internet addresses for the UK, Europe, Middle East and parts of Central Asia, has confirmed that their final reserve pool of Internet Protocol v4 (IPv4) addresses will completely run out in November 2019. Strictly speaking the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) started running out of address space in 2012 and began rationing the little they had left. Fast forward a few years and at the start of October 2019 it was confirmed that they only had 1 million IPv4 addresses left in their available pool (out of 4 billion addresses total), “which we expect to run out in November 2019….” Thankfully many ISPs, devices and services have now introduced “newer” IPv6 addresses, although some still have a lot of work to do (e.g. TalkTalk)… A Spokesperson for RIPE NCC told ISPreview.co.uk “… IPv4 ‘run-out’ has long been anticipated and planned for by the technical community and no one needs to worry about the Internet suddenly breaking. But it does mean that the pressure will continue to build for many networks, necessitating the use of complex and expensive workarounds. “Our advice to network operators is to take stock of their IP resources and to make sure their IPv6 plans are making progress.”