Facebook, Google, Yahoo Join Forces To Fix The Internet's Biggest Problem In Decades

Imagine if the world ran out of phone numbers. Mobile providers could issue no more smartphones, businesses could create no new call centers, and the public would be left fighting over and recycling a diminishing amount of existing phone numbers. "That's a similar situation that we're in on the Internet," says Facebook's Donn Lee, pointing out that the web's billions of IP addresses are about to hit its max.

Lee is Facebook's lead engineer on IPv6, or Internet Protocol version 6, the first new version of the Internet's addressing system in decades, which will provide trillions and trillions more unique addresses on the web. Every time you go online or print a document at work, you're essentially dialing a unique number--called an IP address--to communicate with other devices and computer networks. It's no different than visiting a friend: You might know the name of his apartment building, but you'll need an address and zip code in order to locate it on a map. The web works in the same way, but as the number of homes and businesses and devices connected to the Internet continues to increase exponentially, we're rapidly running out of space online. And now it's up to Internet giants such as Facebook, Google, and Yahoo to fix the problem before it's too late. On June 8, as the World IPv6 Day test fires up, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo--traditionally competitors in the Internet landscape--will come together with hundreds of other major organizations to pool resources for a greater cause. "IPv6 is much bigger than any one company," Lee says. "We felt that it was for the good of the Internet and future generations of the Internet."