The company said in a press release that IPv4 is reaching it’s theoretical maximum of about 4 billion Internet addresses and the latest version has a capacity to support 340 trillion addresses. This allows organizations for the expansion of connected devices from computers and smart phones to household electronics, industrial appliances, senors, vehicles and commercial systems.

IPv6 also provides for improved quality and new applications like IP TV, telephony and e-commerce, it said.

For enterprises in India, transitioning to IPv6 is essential to keep up with the current Internet growth, as well to develop new Internet applications, new markets and to serve citizens in new ways.

The objectives of the pilot project are to identify major challenges for organizations in adopting Ipv6; develop solutions for these challenges through education, technology and process improvements; provide advice and resource for enterprises and government bodies in Karnataka and actively promote the adoption of IPv6 in India.

“Expanding communication networks, limited availability of IPv4address space, coupled with growing demand for new IP addresses globally, has necessitated the need to shift to IPv6 by March 2012,” said M N Vidyashankar, principal secretary to Government, Department of IT, BT, S&T and eGovernance, Govt of Karnataka.

“This partnership will help spread awareness regarding this new mandate to all federal, state government ministries, public and private sector companies,” he concluded.