Kenya Network Information Center (KENIC), the administrator of .ke top-level domains, has waived the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) annual fees.

Applicants for the IPv6 address space will not be required to pay the US$2,500 for every 1,000 IP addresses allocated, said Vincent Ngundi, the administrative manager at KENIC.

KENIC is extending the waiver to Kenyan users after Africa Network Information Centre (AfriNIC), the regional registry, said that it will not be charging any fees for IPv6 in order to encourage more people to adopt the new version.

Ngundi predicted that IPv4 addresses will be depleted within the next three years, meaning that hosts will not be able to connect to the Internet. He warned that this would hinder the growth of the Internet, one of Kenya's main economic driving forces.

Adoption of IPv6 has been slow in Kenya, said Ngundi, but he added that IPv6 provides a larger number of IP addresses, enhanced online security and easier network management, features that will improve the performance of networks.

To support local IT managers and system administrators in the transition to IPv6, KENIC is offering a three-day, hands-on training course June 17-20. The training will be supported by AfriNIC, the Communications Commission of Kenya, the Kenya ICT Board and the Telecommunication Service Providers Association of Kenya. The workshop will tackle issues relating to allocation, assignment and management of IP Number resources; IPv4 to IPv6 co-existence and transition mechanisms; and the deployment and management of IPv6 networks.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.