IPv4 Exhaustion, IPv6 Expansion: Where the Internet Stands Now

IPv4 has been the Internet’s backbone since the early 80s. Every device connected to a network and/or the internet uses IPv4 to transmit data successfully. Although the next-generation Internet Protocol, IPv6, is gaining traction every year, IPv4 remains the widely used protocol for network communication worldwide.

The use of IPv4 to maintain efficient network communication worldwide is highly commended. However, widespread adoption without consideration for the next generation of Internet Protocol should be a cause for concern. According to APNIC, the last “free pool” of IPv4 addresses was allocated to RIRs (Regional Internet Registry) in 2011.

That was 14 years ago. Despite growing shortages, the internet continues to rely on IPv4 addresses.

Adaptation and Actual Use

Even though IPv4 addresses are fully allocated, the Internet continues to live thanks to smart network practices. Among them is the use of NAT or Network Address Translation. According to Geeks for Geeks, NAT “allows multiple devices in a private network to access the internet using a single public IP address. It helps conserve IPv4 addresses and hides internal systems for added security.”

Instead of using multiple public IP addresses for each connected device, NAT allows a network to route connections through a single public IP address. Connected devices are connected through private IP addresses for network monitoring.

The same report of APNIC also indicates the actual use of the IPv4 addresses. While every possible IPv4 address has been allocated to RIRs worldwide, their usage does not reflect their allocation. According to the report:

“The number of routes covering 192/8 in 2024 was a little over 14,000, but the proportion of the address space these routes covered was only slightly more than 62% of the total possible, which means nearly two-fifths of the 192/8 address pool is not directly reachable on the Internet.”

The remaining 38% are mostly unused for various purposes. Some of them are actually private and reserved for special reasons, but they only make up a small number of the remaining unused 198/8 blocks.

The Business of IPv4

IPv4 sales and leases have also become an industry of their own. Companies and organizations that retained their IPv4 address blocks are now seeing their value increase. Selling or leasing these IPv4 addresses is now a common practice, especially for businesses seeking stable connectivity using their own public IPv4 address block.

Blocks sold are also based on need - instead of selling or leasing large blocks of addresses, companies and organizations only sell a portion of these blocks.

Adoption of IPv6 and Its Future

IPv6 adoption is slowly growing as internet companies have been aggressive in its deployment. According to Google’s IPv6 network traffic monitoring, 48.92% of its traffic was served over IPv6 as of December 13, 2025. India, France, and Germany are the top countries with network traffic coming from IPv6, according to Google’s monitoring tool.

After 14 years of its depletion, IPv4 is still in use thanks to modern network changes and practices. Fortunately, IPv6 is steadily gaining adoption worldwide as countries are increasing their internet traffic over IPv6.