Although we have been talking about it since 2008, it was in June 2012 when IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) was officially launched as the main replacement for IPv4. This new protocol came with the aim of generating new types of longer and more complex IP addresses for the simple reason that IPv4 addresses had already run out.
Although giants like Google, Microsoft or Facebook have been offering native content in IPv6 for years, we have had to wait until now for an operator in Spain to deploy IPv6 in its mobile network. It has been Movistar, so that its clients will be able to access that content more quickly and with greater security.
Deployment will end before April
Last November, Movistar began to deploy the Dual Stack functionality to be able to provide IPv6 addresses to those mobile line users who had the "telefonica.es" APN configured on an IPv6/IPv4 compatible device.
Now, the operator has officially confirmed that it has already begun to deploy the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in its mobile network, so that the device, when establishing a connection with the mobile network to access the Internet, receives both the traditional IPv4 address as the new IPv6.
One of the advantages of using IPv6 is to achieve greater speed of access to the so-called 'hyperscalars' offered by IPv6 content (Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon,...), but this new protocol also includes improvements in the security and mobility.
Movistar has therefore become the first operator in Spain to address the Internet traffic of its mobile users with IPv6. Currently, it has a total of 600,000 accesses over IPv6 and plans to complete the deployment throughout the first quarter of 2023. The fixed network will have to wait, but Broadband assures that the new addresses will reach Movistar's fiber during the second half of the year.
Movistar customers do not have to hire it or request its activation, since it is something that all Android terminals already support; throughout 2023, it will also be available for iOS. In addition, it is possible to activate or deactivate it whenever we want through the configuration menus of our phone.
And how do you know if you are accessing the content with IPv4 or IPv6? According to Movistar, there are several ways to do this:
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Through a page that shows the IP with which it is accessed (www.cualesmiip.com or www.whatismyip.com).
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Through the www.test-ipv6.com page, which checks the use of IPv6 addressing.
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Downloading an app that indicates the IPs used in the terminal.
