What is IPv6?
Wikipedia on IPv6, Google search for IPv6.
Since 1997, Sprint has been actively involved in the standardization, testing, and deployment of IPv6. Sprint was an early adopter of IPv6 in an experimental capacity, and not only keeps an active test-bed for IPv6, but is involved in the evolution and standardization of the IPv6 protocol. Given current projections regarding IPv4 address exhaustion, Sprint believes that over the next few years, IPv6 services will be crucial to all customers with a presence on today's IPv4 Internet, and is working to ensure that it will be ready to meet its customers' needs as they enable IPv6 support within their own networks and services.
How is Sprint deploying IPv6?
Past:
Sprint has an IPv6 testbed (AS6175) which it has been maintaining for customers to experiment with IPv6 using IPv6 over IPv4 tunneled connections. Information on how to connect to that network can be found here.
Present:
Sprint has deployed IPv6 support on its Peerless IP network for VPN customers. More information can be found here (PDF).
Future:
Sprint is currently working to deploy IPv6 on its Sprintlink IP network (AS1239), as a true native, dual-stack implementation. In the fourth quarter of 2009, we will be rolling out IPv6 on a majority of our core routers, as well as selected edge routers. Once we complete this core infrastructure rollout, we will be looking for beta testing customers. If you are interested in beta testing IPv6 or dual-stack connectivity with Sprint, please email ipv6-support@sprint.net, and put "dual-stack beta test" in the subject line, or contact your account representative. In the third quarter of 2010, as hardware upgrades and software certification completes, we will begin enabling additional edge routers and the remaining core routers for dual-stack services, as well as completing the systems work necessary to transition IPv6 from a beta service to a fully-supported, mainstream service, with similar Service Level Agreements and performance standards to our IPv4 service.
