Lack of strategic urgency, often described by executives as “lack of a business case,” has been described as the primary reason why IPv6 deployment has been slow worldwide.
Internet Protocol (IP) expert, Mukom Tamon, who stated this in a recent article, noted that IPv6 needs a serious push on the part of the authorities to ensure faster migration.
IPv6 is the latest version of the Internet Protocol, a communication protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet. It was developed to replace IPv4, primarily because of the exhaustion of available IPv4 addresses.
IPv6 uses a 128-bit address scheme, allowing for approximately 3.4 \times 10^{38} unique addresses.
This vast number effectively eliminates the concern of address depletion for the foreseeable future, a major problem with IPv4’s 32-bit address space.
Stressing the importance of IPv6, Tamon said governments are more inclined to make investments that do not need to generate returns within decades, for the common good. He said IPv6 deployment is such a venture, stressing that it’s precisely how the U.S. government built the ARPANET, which evolved into today’s Internet.
According to him, as the largest purchasers of ICTs in every country, governments can, with the right policies and proactive measures, influence economic incentives by acting as a powerful buyer rather than relying on outdated regulation and mandates, which have proven ineffective.
Further, he said governments own and operate extensive IT infrastructure—including networks, data centres, and services.
With a view to conducting a Government Accelerator programme, Mukom said the programme will unify all the other services he has developed and tested over the past decade, focusing specifically on the government’s infrastructure.
He said this will give participating governments the credibility to promote IPv6 adoption and establish a solid business case for Internet companies working with the government.
“The immediate spill-over effect of this initiative is that it will motivate at least two major operators in each country to deploy IPv6 and prompt regulatory and customs regimes to facilitate IPv6 deployment,” he stated.
According to him, in this way, governments can advocate for IPv6 from a position of credibility rather than from weak mandates that private network operators simply ignore.
“As more African governments join the Government IPv6 Accelerator programme—an initiative not available anywhere else in the world—African countries can finally build the infrastructure that enables them to be producers, not just consumers, in the digital economy,” he stated.
Emphasising migration from IPv4 and IPv6, Tamon said: “Imagine if there could never be more than 3.2 million phone numbers in Nigeria. That would mean 74 Nigerians must ‘share’ one phone number. Our $9.07 billion telecommunications market and millions of jobs wouldn’t exist.
“And yet, that’s the reality regarding Internet addresses called IPv4. With 160 million Internet users (NCC data), Nigeria only has 3,168,375 IPv4 (Internet) addresses, so at least 50 Internet users share a single IPv4 address.
“This shortage of Internet addresses is a global phenomenon that, unless surmounted, will forever limit Nigeria’s ability to build a digital economy that makes it a producer rather than just a consumer nation.
“That’s why Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Dr Bosun Tijani, set an ambitious target of achieving 100 per cent IPv6 deployment by 2050 in August 2024.”
Already, the IPv6 Task Force in Africa has stressed the importance of all Africans benefiting from the global digital revolution. According to them, achieving this feat requires concerted efforts towards migration from IPv4 to IPv6.
The task force, which convened the Africa IPv6-Cybersecurity Secure Tech Summit 2025 virtually, brought together a constellation of the world’s foremost technology experts, policymakers and industry leaders to chart an actionable course for Africa’s digital sovereignty.
Under the theme: ‘Empowering Africa’s Digital Future with IPv6, AI, Cybersecurity, Quantum Computing and Next-Generation Infrastructure’, the summit served as a powerful catalyst for change, translating vision into a concrete manifesto for action.
Indeed, at the maiden event, which was hailed as a critical turning point, and needed to address the urgent need for Africa to transition to IPv6—a foundational protocol essential for securing the continent’s digital borders, enabling future innovation, and driving economic competitiveness.
The pinnacle of the summit was the unanimous adoption of the “Manifesto for Africa’s Digital Renaissance.” The document moved beyond declaration to a pledge of action, outlining non-negotiable commitments to Digital Sovereignty by Design: Asserting Africa’s control over its data and digital infrastructure; Mandatory IPv6 Adoption: Advocating for IPv6 as the default standard to mitigate security risks and enable growth and Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Ensuring the digital revolution benefits all Africans and aligns with environmental sustainability.
The manifesto issued a direct call to action for governments, the private sector, academia, and civil society to invest in research, foster international cooperation, enhance digital literacy, and implement robust cybersecurity measures.
