by Rob Simmons, CISSP

January 5, 2023

Technology terminology can be confusing. Recently, the number 6 has shown up in the name of several new technologies, including 6G, IPv6, and Wi-Fi 6. Let’s sort out some of the “sixes” in our IT future.

• 6G refers to wireless cellular telephony. Current smartphones use fifth generation (5G) technology, but wireless providers have already set the standards for sixth generation (6G) technology. The 6G standard uses more of the radio spectrum and offers enhanced scalability and reliability, so it won’t be long before wireless providers and smartphone vendors advertise their 6G capabilities. You can expect 6G wireless technology to be available by 2030.
• IPv6 refers to the sixth version of the Internet Protocol (IP) that provides a numerical address for every device on the internet. Today, IP version 4 (IPv4) is used worldwide, but IPv4 was not designed to provide enough IP addresses to handle the skyrocketing number of PCs, smartphones, tablets, Internet of Things devices, connected vehicles, and other smart devices. IP version 6 (IPv6) provides 340 trillion trillion trillion (3.4 x 10³⁸) unique IP addresses. IPv6 is available today and most contemporary smartphones use IPv6. Major websites such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Wikipedia support both IPv4 and IPv6.
  • You can test your smartphone IPv6 connectivity. First, check your Wi-Fi IPv4 connectivity. Make sure your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, open your browser, and connect to test-ipv6.com. The website should confirm that, over Wi-Fi, your phone made an IPv4 connection to the website.
  • Then, turn off your phone’s Wi-Fi so that the only network connection is via the cellular network. Reload the test-ipv6.com Via the cellular network, the website should indicate that your phone is using IPv6. Remember to turn your Wi-Fi on again when you are finished with this test.
• Wi-Fi 6 refers to the technology that provides a higher data rate Wi-Fi signal in homes and offices. Wi-Fi 6 is available today; routers purchased in the last three years support Wi-Fi 6. As people replace their router and smartphones, they are noticing that the Wi-Fi signal indicator on their smartphone includes the number 6, which means Wi-Fi 6 is being used.

Let us know if you have any questions about the new “sixes” technologies.

About Unissant

Unissant, Inc. (Unissant) is an award-winning Small Business Administration (SBA) certified Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) with experience as a prime managing large, enterprise-wide, Information Technology (IT) solutions for customers across the Health, Federal Civilian, National Security and Financial Services markets. We are a prime contractor on various government vehicles such as CIO-SP3 SB, GSA Professional Services MAS. GSA IT MAS, Seaport NXG and CMS SPARC.

We focus on five capabilities for our customers: Data and Advanced Analytics, Agile and DevSecOps, IT Modernization, Cloud Services and Cyber Security. Our team members are always learning, staying on top of the latest technology, using trusted methods as well as out-of-the-box innovations to craft solutions for customers that address the current problem and can adapt to the challenges of the future.

Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia with a satellite office in San Antonio, Texas, Unissant is a CMMI ML 3 Dev & SVC, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013 company. Unissant is also the recipient of various industry awards such as SECAF Government Project of the Year, the ACT-IAC Innovation Award and most recently the FedHealthIT Innovation Award.