The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has inaugurated the Nigeria IPv6 Council, calling for coordinated and accelerated adoption of IPv6 to enhance the country’s digital competitiveness, security, and sovereignty.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, made this known during the inauguration ceremony held in Lagos on Thursday, describing the development as a defining moment in Nigeria’s digital evolution and its readiness to play a leading role in the next phase of the global internet.
Maida noted that Nigeria’s IPv6 adoption rate currently stands at about five per cent, significantly below the global average of over 40 per cent, stressing the need for urgent and deliberate action to bridge the gap.
He explained that the exhaustion of IPv4 resources, coupled with the rapid expansion of 5G networks, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and artificial intelligence-driven applications, has placed increasing pressure on legacy internet infrastructure.
The NCC boss further stated that these technological advancements have made the transition to IPv6 not just necessary, but unavoidable for sustainable digital growth.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the latest version of the internet protocol used to identify and connect devices on the internet. It was developed to address the limitations and address exhaustion challenges of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4).
