**DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE**

**National Institute of Standards and Technology, National
Telecommunications and Information Administration**

**IPv6 Public Meeting**

**AGENCY:** National Institute of Standards and Technology, National
Telecommunications

and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

**ACTION:** Notice of Public Meeting

**SUMMARY:** The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce, will host a half-day public meeting
on Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), entitled IPv6 Public Meeting. The
meeting will provide an opportunity for interested parties to discuss
IPv6 deployment issues, including the appropriate government role, if
any, in IPv6 deployment.

**DATES:** The IPv6 Public Meeting will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. on Wednesday, July 28, 2004.

**ADDRESSES:** The public meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 4830, Washington, D.C.
(Entrance to the Department of Commerce is on 14th Street between
Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, N.W.)

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:** Alfred Lee, Office of Policy
Analysis and Development, NTIA, at (202) 482-1880, or via electronic
mail: alee@ntia.doc.gov. Please direct media inquiries to the Office of
Public Affairs, NTIA, at (202) 482-7002.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:** The Internet Protocol (IP) is a technical
standard that enables computers and other devices to communicate with
each other over networks, many of which interconnect to form the
Internet. By providing a common format for the transmission of
information across the Internet, IP facilitates communication among a
variety of disparate networks and devices. This ability to communicate
with a single, widely accepted format has been a key to the rapid growth
and success of the Internet.

The current generation of IP, version 4 (IPv4), has been in use for more
than twenty years, and has supported the Internets phenomenal growth
over the last decade. A variety of stakeholders, through the guiding
efforts of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), have developed a
new version of IP, known as IPv6. IPv6 has several advantages over IPv4,
including the availability of many more Internet addresses and
additional user features and applications. IPv6 has also been designed
to provide other features and capabilities, such as improved support for
hierarchical addressing, a simplified header format, improved support
for options and extensions, additional auto-configuration and
reconfiguration features, and native security features.

In light of the potential benefits of IPv6, especially the security
implications, the President\'s National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace
directed the Secretary of Commerce to: \[F\]orm a task force to examine
the issues related to IPv6, including the appropriate role of
government, international interoperability, security in transition, and
costs and benefits. The task force will solicit input from potentially
impacted industry segments.[^1]

In response, the Department of Commerce formed a task force to study
IPv6 and to prepare a report of its findings and recommendations. The
IPv6 Task Force is co-chaired by the Administrator of NTIA and the
Acting Director of NIST and consists of staff from these two agencies.

The IPv6 Task Force is in the process of compiling information from a
variety of sources, including a request for comments issued in January
of this year and survey research.[^2] This public meeting is an
important part of that process. The public meeting will have two panels.
The first panel will address the costs and benefits of IPv6, security in
transition, interoperability and other deployment issues. The second
panel will address the appropriate role of government, if any, in
deploying IPv6. Panelists will include scientists, technical experts,
policy analysts, business leaders, and government officials.

NTIA will post an IPv6 Task Force discussion draft entitled, Technical
and Economic Assessment of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), on NTIAs
website at
[http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/ntiageneral/ipv6/index.html]{.underline}
prior to the IPv6 Public Meeting to facilitate discussion of IPv6 issues
by interested parties. To obtain a printed copy of the discussion draft
(1) write to NTIA, Room 4725, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230; (2) send an email to
alee@ntia.doc.gov;

\(3\) telephone (202) 482-1880; or (4) fax a request to (202) 482-6173.

**PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:** The public meeting will be open to the public
and press on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is limited. Due to
security requirements and to facilitate entry to the Department of
Commerce building, attendees must present photo identification and/or a
U.S. Government building pass, if applicable, and should arrive at least
one-half hour ahead of the panel sessions. The public meeting is
physically accessible to people with disabilities. Any member of the
public wishing to attend and requiring special services, such as sign
language interpretation or other ancillary aids, should contact Alfred
Lee at (202) 482-1880 or alee@ntia.doc.gov at least three (3) days prior
to the meeting.

Dated: July 9, 2004

**Milton Brown**

*Acting Chief Counsel, National Telecommunications and Information
Administration*

[^1]: *The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace*, A/R 2-3, at 30 (Feb.
    2003), http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/cyberspace_strategy.pdf.

[^2]: *See* NIST, NTIA, Request for Comments on Deployment of Internet
    Protocol, Version 6, 69 Fed. Reg. 2890 (2004). Comments received in
    response are available on NTIAs web site at
    http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/ntiageneral/ipv6/commentsindex.html.