Islamabad, (Parliament Times) : With a focus on innovation and digitalization, PTA has
instructed all Telecom Operators and Internet Service Providers to complete their
transition to IPv6 technology, the latest version of the internet protocol (IP), at the
earliest.
IPv6, or Internet Protocol version 6, is used to identify devices on a network and
route traffic between them. It offers several advantages over its predecessor, IPv4,
including a much larger pool of IP addresses for paving the way to facilitate
consumers to control home appliances through mobile phones, using Internet of
Things (IoT). The transition to IPv6 is critical to support the rollout of new
technologies such as IoT and 5G.
PTA has remained engaged with its licensees for this transition from IPv4 to IPv6
and arranged several capacity building activities through Asia Pacific Network
Information Center (APNIC) and Internet Society (ISOC). At the instructions of PTA,
mobile operators have enabled IPv6 option for end users. However, due to privacy
reasons, the users have to change network options themselves from IPv4 to IPv6.
Smartphone users can enable IPv6 on their handsets using the method mentioned at
PTA website: (https://pta.gov.pk/assets/media/ipv6_graphic_10012023.jpg). Fixed
broadband users can also get it configured through their respective service
providers. In case of any difficulty, users can contact their operators/service
providers for further assistance.
