Verio Unwraps IPv6 Gateway Offering

The telecommunications industry drew a step closer to the much-hyped Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) last week as Verio, a subsidiary of NTT Communications, unveiled the first such commercial offering in North America. The technology, which many say could someday assign an IP address to every object on earth, is available now through Verio's Network Services channel.

Formally dubbed Verio IPv6 Gateway Services, the technology will be delivered over a newly upgraded Verio Global IP Network and consists of three individual solutions.

According to Cody Christman, director of product engineering at the Englewood, Colo., company, all three solutions will offer customers many of the features associated with IPv4 connectivity, but also will boast burstable bandwidth and exclusive security enhancements such as augmented VPN and full integration of the IPsec framework.

"This kind of technology exists in Europe and Asia, but we felt it was time to make it available to the sales channel here in the U.S.," Christman said. "This is new ground for Verio, new ground for anyone in our industry, and we're excited to see it grow."

Venicom's Goble: Verio being first to market is a boon to its VARs.

"I think it's a bit early to burst onto the marketplace touting this as a technology that everyone has to buy," Schatt said. "There's an advantage to getting out there early, but I'd say [Verio] has done more harm than good by taking a sky-is-falling approach to the need for this kind of [technology.]"

Despite Schatt's criticism, partners were excited by the news.

S. Chris Palermo, president of Verio solution provider Global Communication Networks, Tampa, Fla., said he would be "surprised" if current IPv4 addresses last until 2010, adding that with IPv6, the expansion of network space is almost infinite. "Many continents around the world already use IPv6, so it will become a more acceptable protocol once U.S. businesses make the transition," he said.

Rob Goble, president and CEO of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Venicom, another Verio solution provider, agreed. "Anytime you come to market with something and you're first, you pass along the advantage to your resellers in the channel," he said. "I don't care when people start adopting this stuff; when they do, they'll come to us."

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