Giant US MSO now deploys native IPv6 support to over 75% of its broadband network, with goal of reaching 100% by early 2014.

Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading

December 2, 2013

2 Min Read
Comcast Claims IPv6 Crown

Comcast celebrated Thanksgiving Day weekend by staking a claim to the world's largest native deployment of IPv6.

In his latest blog post last week, John Brzozowski, a Comcast fellow and the MSO's chief IPv6 architect, wrote that Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) has now deployed native IPv6 support to more than 75% of its broadband network and is on track to hit 100% by early 2014. With Comcast easily the largest broadband provider in North America, that makes its native IPv6 deployment the largest in the world.

Over the last three months, Brzozowski wrote, Comcast has jumped from third place to first place in the global IPv6 network rankings, moving past both AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Japan's KDDI Corp.

Indeed, the latest rankings from the Internet Society (ISOC) bear out this claim. ISOC, which ranks network operators by the percentage of IPv6 traffic they carry as well as the percentage of network deployment, found that Comcast now handles the most native IPv6 traffic on a daily basis. In ISOC's most recent measurements, it rated Comcast's IPv6 deployment at about 16.4%, up from less than 2% on World IPv6 Launch Day in June 2012.

Brzozowski credited much of the gains to Comcast's rollout of IPv6 support to two widely used Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS) wireless gateways modems. With the support for these two modem models -- known as the TG852G and TG862G -- he said the MSO expanded the reach of its IPv6 coverage to more than 4 million broadband customers.

In addition, Brzozowski said Comcast "has been working closely" with Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) to offer network IPv6 support through the vendor's uBR10000 cable modem termination system (CMTS). The MSO has already wrapped up a similar network rollout with CMTS devices from Arris, the cable industry's other main vendor in the CMTS market.

Yet Brzozowski is not exactly resting on his laurels. With IPv6 traffic on Comcast's network still relatively low, he's looking to boost the traffic numbers significantly next year, in part by working with the consumer electronics industry to build IPv6 support into more connected TVs and other new smart CE devices in the home.

Besides Comcast, two other large MSOs made ISOC's latest top 10 list for IPv6 deployment. Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) came in eighth place globally with a 3.4% IPv6 network score, while Liberty Global Inc. (Nasdaq: LBTY) captured 10th place with a 2.2% IPv6 score.

— Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Alan Breznick

Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading

Alan Breznick is a business editor and research analyst who has tracked the cable, broadband and video markets like an over-bred bloodhound for more than 20 years.

As a senior analyst at Light Reading's research arm, Heavy Reading, for six years, Alan authored numerous reports, columns, white papers and case studies, moderated dozens of webinars, and organized and hosted more than 15 -- count 'em --regional conferences on cable, broadband and IPTV technology topics. And all this while maintaining a summer job as an ostrich wrangler.

Before that, he was the founding editor of Light Reading Cable, transforming a monthly newsletter into a daily website. Prior to joining Light Reading, Alan was a broadband analyst for Kinetic Strategies and a contributing analyst for One Touch Intelligence.

He is based in the Toronto area, though is New York born and bred. Just ask, and he will take you on a power-walking tour of Manhattan, pointing out the tourist hotspots and the places that make up his personal timeline: The bench where he smoked his first pipe; the alley where he won his first fist fight. That kind of thing.

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