The past two years of accelerated remote working have unquestionably strained our network usage, resulting in some significant internet outages. A Uswitch.com survey from last year found that broadband outages tripled in the UK during the pandemic, and with the trend for remote and hybrid working only set to continue Vaidotas Januška, Chief Technology Officer of IPXO, is advocating that we look at IPv4 again to help ease the load.

Januška recently outlined how enabling inactive IPv4 addresses to re-enter the market via IP leasing could fill in some essential gaps in internet usage while helping to make connections more reliable. Small and mid-sized ISPs could be given access to more IP addresses, enabling them to avoid expensive capital investments in growing their IP space so that they can then shift their focus into scaling or upgrading infrastructure. "Being able to lease out the necessary IPv4s enables smaller-scale industry players to provide their clients with a more stable connection to the internet, reducing the number of plausible network outages," commented Januška. "Also, leasing could help widen a company's regional scope and enable to service more clients. For instance, IPXO's IP management platform enables to select IP addresses by desired geolocation, streamlining entry into new markets."

"Leasing IPs could enable cloud services to better optimise their current tools to serve the ever-increasing internet user traffic," Januška continued. "It's unlikely that the trend of remote work will end anytime soon, if ever, thus this could be a solid solution to provide clients proper bandwidth to keep up with the demand." It’s a resourceful response to the need for network resilience, and a reminder that we don’t always need to try and reinvent the wheel when it comes to solving IT challenges.

To make sure you get your copy of the Newsletter emailed to you personally, every time, click here to register.