The Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) has made a major announcement that will affect the use of mobile phones, computers, tablets and other devices in the country. Starting from July 2023, all devices that do not have IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) will be banned.
IP is a protocol that enables computers or devices to communicate with each other over a network. IP is a set of rules that facilitate the routing of data packets across networks to their intended destination. There are multiple versions of IP. IPv4 is the most widely used version for identifying devices on a network. It was officially released in 1983 and can take only 4.3 billion unique IP addresses.
IPv6 is a newer version of IP that was developed to address the limitations of IPv4. IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses and has approximately 7.9 x 1028 unique addresses, which means every device can have a unique address, while in IPv4, addresses may be reused or masked. The transition to IPv6 is important because it enhances security by supporting end-to-end IP security protocol mode.
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To drive the uptake of IPv6, only devices with IPv6 capability will be type approved for use in Kenya effective July 2023. This is part of CAK’s regulatory intervention. The regulator reports that it will ban the sale of devices such as mobile phones, computers, printers, and scanners that do not have IPv6 capability.
The CAK had earlier warned that should Kenya delay in full adoption of IPv6, then serious technological challenges may befall the country’s ICT sector, including lack of internet access, and lag in tech advances. IPv6 adoption rates for Kenya are currently under 8%, Uganda at 0.3 %, Tanzania (0.11%), Rwanda at 6.34 %, Burundi and South Sudan at 0%. It is not clear what the status is in Ghana.
