COMMERCE DEPARTMENT TASK FORCE TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING
ON COSTS AND BENEFITS OF NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL

A Commerce Department task force studying Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), a new industry-developed version of the Internet Protocol, will host a public meeting on July 28, 2004 to explore issues related to its deployment. The public meeting will focus on the costs and benefits of a transition to IPv6; the appropriate role of government, if any, in the deployment of the new Internet Protocol; and its impact on security, competitiveness and Internet use.

“As the Internet continues to play an important role in the performance of the U.S. economy, our leadership in Internet technologies will make a significant contribution to job growth and our economic and national security,” said Michael D. Gallagher, administrator of the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “The public meeting on IPv6 issues will help us to gather the information needed to evaluate the costs and benefits of this new Internet standard.”

“The Internet also will continue to revolutionize the products and services offered by companies as well as the way they do business,” said Hratch Semerjian, acting director of the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. “The standards infrastructure essential to these advances must be efficiently managed to enable U.S. growth and competitiveness in the Internet age.”

The meeting will consist of two panels. The first panel will address the costs and benefits of IPv6, security and interoperability between IPv6 and IPv4 networks and equipment. The second panel will address the potential role of the federal government in deploying IPv6. A task force discussion draft is posted on the NTIA Web site to facilitate discussion of the issues. The discussion draft may be accessed through the following url: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/ntiageneral/ipv6/index.html

The task force, called for by President Bush’s National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, is co-chaired by NTIA and NIST. It operates in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal offices and agencies. The task force is scheduled to issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the President later this year.

The July 28 meeting will be held from 9 am to 1:30 pm in Room 4830 of the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C.

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