Last IPv4 Addresses Allocated

The Internet has reached a historic milestone.

After years of rapid Internet expansion, the pool of available unallocated addresses for IPv4, the original Internet Protocol (IP) Addressing system, is completely depleted. But don’t worry. This is not the IPocalypse, as some members of the media have called it.

ICANN, along with the Number Resources Organization (NRO), the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and the Internet Society (ISOC), have been preparing the Internet for this moment for years. IPv6, a new Internet Protocol with a massive amount of address space, is already taking over as IPv4 runs out. For most users, all it means is that your computer’s IP address today might look like 192.0.2.10 (an example IPv4 address), but soon it may resemble 2001:0db8::feed:b766 (an example IPv6 address).

Why are IP Addresses such a big deal? Simply put, it’s because they are the numbers assigned to computer network interfaces, and without them, our computers, servers, and devices would not be able to communicate with each other. Online browsing, email, and smartphones all depend on IP Addresses to work.