Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts at the 2012 commemoration of the Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6) hosted recently by DigitalSENSE Africa Media Limited in Lagos, canvassed for increased Africans’ interest on future Internet, writes REMMY NWEKE.
THE annual commemoration of the Internet Protocol version
Six (IPv6) was held in Lagos with a call for Africans and Nigerians
particularly to embrace the new internet by developing interests in what makes
the Internet thick.
Organized by DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA) Media Limited in
partnership with Internet Society (ISOC) Nigeria chapter with collaboration of
the National Information Development Agency (NITDA) and Nigeria Postal Service
(NIPOST) hosted the commemoration at the Welcome Centre and Hotels, Lagos.
Welcoming participants to 2012 Nigeria IPV6 Roundtable, the
Executive Director, Operations, DSA Media Limited, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, noted
that this year is the second edition of the Roundtable, aimed at providing a
platform for all stakeholders in the country to share IPV6 knowledge and
experience, chart a roadmap for early transition to IPV6 as IPv4 addresses ran
out, as well as promote IPv6-enabled products and services.
Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable, she said, is meant to stimulate
public discourse and create awareness on the technological cum business
benefits of this rapid advancing technology, encourage integration of IPv6 into
all aspects of networking and telecommunications infrastructure in the country,
as the World IPV6 Day is commemorated, in addition, providing a first-class
platform for networking.
This year’s theme, “IPv6 and the Future of Internet in
Nigeria” she said, was explored by carefully selected and notable speakers,
under the chairmanship of Prof. Raymond Akwule, president, Digital Bridge
Institute (DBI).
She noted that the last batch of internet Protocol version
four (IPv4) addresses were allocated on February 3rd last year at a ceremony in
Maimi to Asia Pacific Network by Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA);
the organization that oversees the global allocation of Internet addresses,
thus underscoring the extent to which the web has become an integral and
pervasive part of modern life.
According to her, since the early 80s when it was developed
the Internet Protocol (IPv4), has served as the base of the Internet and now
that it has officially ran out of addresses with capacity of just 4 billion.
Pointing out that already, America and Europe are in the
lead in incorporating IPv6 in their networks and telecommunications
infrastructure and urged that Nigeria “Join the players” so that the nation
could compete globally.
She maintained that for her team at DSA Media, this
encourages knowledge-base that really makes sense and for a reach that will
give your business greater meaning to what you are doing right now.
Chairman of the occasion and president, DBI, Prof. Akwule,
decried the absence of significant African and Nigeria’s contributions in
particular into the core Internet development, expressed worry there is
absolutely no contribution from Nigeria on core internet evolution.
“Is it because we don’t have people who understand language
of the internet, architecture, engineering software?” he asked, but was quick
to provide an answer, adding that the above should not be the case, declaring
“if we don’t have them in country, we have them in Diaspora,” he said,
insisting Nigeria has what it takes to make relevant impact and contribute to the
development of the Internet in some areas.
Therefore, he urged experts to come up with how to improve
on Nigeria and Africa’s contribution to new Internet, saying that this could
kick-off by crafting what happens in the core architecture of the internet such
that Nigeria’s presence will be felt not just as users of the internet. Akwule
also enjoined Nigerians not to worry about studying a particular subject,
pointing out that most bright Information Technology (IT) persons, he ever met
in all institutions including DBI, did not study IT. Declaring, “My best IT
person that does all kinds of wonders did not study IT and I always say that
because there is lesson there.”
Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications
Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, called on Nigerians to
prepare for the future, especially as technological tools are becoming more
intelligent on daily basis, hence the importance of creating awareness on
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and IPv6.
Adebayo also said that it may be difficult to connect to
some particular networks, once IPv4 is eventually exhausted. “As we develop in
our day to day life, technology is changing, devices are more intelligent.
Today, people are talking about handheld, it’s no longer desktop computer.
There is a need for us to prepare ourselves for the future. That is why the
awareness about IPv4, IPv6 is very important,” he said, commending DSA Media
for this initiative.
In his presentation, the President, ISOC Nigeria, Engr.
Giandomenico Massari noted that the society was chartered and registered in
Nigeria on June 1998 after it was founded by a group of five friends and today
counts a total of over 1,000 members.
The chapter, he said, has since inception been promoting the
Internet in Nigeria through seminars, courses and conferences, even as they
have sensitized some corporate bodies and government on the need to assist and
sponsor IT projects in recent times. Just as, free courses and internet
awareness have been given to lecturers at different levels and students in
various higher institutions across Nigeria.
According to him,
ISOC Nigeria chapter has donated Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
centers over 15 schools and professional bodies in the country, with some
beneficiaries including the Rivers State University of Science and Technology,
Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Port Harcourt branch, and IT Center at NSE
headquarters Lagos.
Equally speaking, president, Nigeria Internet Registration
Association (NIRA), Mrs. Mary Uduma, represented by the chief operating
officer, Mr. Ope Odusan, who dwelt on “.ng Domain Name and the Future of IPv6
in Nigeria,” noted that .ng is Nigeria’s country code, and implicitly, a
Nigerian identity on the internet, which is managed by NIRA.
Founded on March 23, 2005 as a stakeholder-led organisation,
he said, NIRA is charged with the management of the nation’s Country Code Top
Level Domain Name (ccTLD), .ng, with the current Executive President is Mrs.
Mary Uduma who heads the eight (8) members executive board and Dr. Adeola
Odeyemi, chairman of a nine-man Board of Trustee (BOT).
According to him, why the Internet Protocol (IP) is
important at this time is due to its features, including vastly expanded
Internet Protocol (IP) address, noting that IPv4 has 32 bits versus IPv6 which
has 128 bits, adding that more devices could be supported because each
additional bit doubles the size of addresses available.
Very soon, he said, domain names and telephone numbers are
being structured into Electronic Numbering (ENUM), which means a unification of
traditional telephony and next-generation IP networks. “Imagine your phone
number becoming your domain name?” he asked, describing ENUM as a protocol
developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to allow the Public
Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Internet to interoperate.
ENUM, he said, allows telephone numbers to be resolved into
Uniform Resource Locator (URLs) using a Domain Name System (DNS)-based
architecture, stressing that by placing telephone numbers into the DNS, ENUM
could facilitate interoperability for a wide range of applications including
Voice over IP (VoIP), video, presence, and instant messaging.
“.ng is like our currency Naira and +234 for country code,
and is the official ICANN approved ccTLD for Nigeria,” he said, urging
Nigerians to embrace .ng and register their companies and organizations on .ng,
pointing out some of the advantages against other domain names like .com,
especially in the area of prompt dispute resolution.
Content, Odusan said, is King and is the main driver of the
Internet (IPv6) growth, emphasising that content in the form of applications
like Email, VOIP, Web, Blog, Facebook, Video to name a few cannot be
overlooked.
“IPv6 is key to the continued growth of the Internet in
Nigeria,” he declared, adding that in the very near future, there will be no
need to dial a phone number, just dial a domain name.
Conclusion:
Like the chairman rightly pointed out, Africa and Nigeria as
a country, should as matter of fact have a national policy on IPv6 deployment
and adaptation, to not only increase the awareness of the future of internet,
but to entrench its version of technology.
The time to start is now.
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!
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