World IPv6 Day puts broadband networks to the test

With World IPv6 Day due to start at midnight UTC (01:00 BST) on June 8th, broadband networks around the globe face the challenge of operating in compatibility with the new format.

Google is among the organisations taking part in the 24-hour test of the new standard, which has been scheduled using the internet standard of Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, calculated from the rotation of the planet.

The search engine estimates that around one in 2,000 people could see their broadband connections misbehave over the course of the day as their existing equipment fails to fall back to the older - and currently used - IPv4 protocol.

For the remaining 99.95 per cent of people, however, websites including Google Search, Gmail and YouTube should either load using IPv6 or switch seamlessly to IPv4.

Google has been making its own systems compatible with the new format over several months, with its workforce operating in IPv6 mode to help identify and resolve any problems.