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Source: ONE News
While the internet is often perceived as having virtually no boundaries, experts are worried there may come a time when there is no room for new computers to connect.
Each new device needs an IP (or internet-protocol) address to gain access online, but IP addresses were fast running out.
"This isn't a case of if, this is a case of when," said Jamie Baddeley of IPv6 Taskforce.
Four billion IP addresses were created in the beginning of the time of the internet, but Brian Carpenter of Auckland University said that's not enough.
"Four billion sounds like a lot, but the internet has grown so much that we've used most of them up," Carpenter said.
Not to be confused with website addresses, an IP address is a series of numbers assigned to each device connected to the internet. With the proliferation of not only computers, but smart phones and the like, IP addresses were quickly running out.
Almost 95% have been taken, and the rest are due to run out in 340 days - July 2, 2011.
However, Carpenter remained optimistic, saying that there was time, thanks to the global plan to switch to a new internet protocol called IPv6, which would provide trillions of new IP addresses.
But Carpenter and Baddeley believe New Zealand's internet industry has been slow to make the costly and complicated switch.
"One day you just may not be able to reach someone on the other side of the planet because they're connected to the internet through IPv6, and you're connected to the internet through IPv4," Baddeley said.
