5:15 PM -- Sometimes it's easy to forget that Docsis 3.0 isn't only about channel bonding and faster Internet service speeds. IPv6 is also part of the D3 feature set, and even the lowest level of the tiered cable modem termination system (CMTS) enlisted a couple of years ago ("Bronze," in this case) must support IPv6 to win CableLabs qualification. (See CableLabs Accelerates Docsis 3.0 Testing and Go for the Bronze! )

So it may then come as no surprise that Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), which is to have all its plant wired up for Docsis 3.0 by the end of next year, is hailing its support of IPv6 as the IPv4 address well starts to run dry.

Today at the North American Network Operators Group's 46th meeting (also known as NANOG46, evidently) in Comcast's hometown of Philadelphia, the MSO demonstrated its "end-to-end network readiness" for the transition to IPv6.

In tandem, Comcast launched the availability of national high-speed IPv6 transit for wholesale customers (such as Web-hosting firms) that connect to the MSO's fiber backbone. It's hooked up with BitGravity Inc. and The Planet Internet Services Inc. , which says it hosts 17.8 million Websites, for this piece. (See Comcast Preps for IPv6 .)

Closer to home, Comcast is heading in the IPv6 direction to help support an explosion of IP-connected devices it expects to be dangling off its broadband network for residential and small-business customers. The MSO (we've asked for more detail about the how) said it expects to support IPv4 alongside IPv6.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News