Vint Cerf warns of 'tumultuous' internet shake-up

Vint Cerf, one of the co-founders of the network protocols that helped form the internet, has said that the web is facing one of its "most tumultuous periods" since the launch of the system in 1982.

Cerf explained at an event to launch 6UK, an organisation concerned with promoting IPv6 adoption, that is it is vital for businesses, governments and academia to adopt the new IPv6 protocol.

"We are going to run out of IPv4 addresses and, with more devices than ever set to join the internet, such as mobile devices and the 'internet of things', IPv6 will be critical to the future of the internet," he said.

Cerf, who is chief internet evangelist at Google, also promoted the continuation of an open internet to help innovation, arguing that this had been key to its growth and that the new system will benefit from this setup.

"The internet's openness has pushed its success. It is essentially a software platform that anyone can build on and make services available to anyone around the world, and the internet's evolution is far from over," he said.

However, Cerf warned that copyright laws and the internet have reached an impasse, and that the way the internet works is incompatible with current laws.

He also suggested that the UK needs to adopt a similar ethos to Silicon Valley in relation to technology startups if it wants to create world-leading companies.

"There is more of a tolerance for failure in Silicon Valley among companies and the financial community from venture capital firms," he said.

Cerf revealed that he has an IPv6 network in his house made up of connected sensors to measure light and heating emissions, including a wine cellar that sends a text alert if the temperature rises above 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

He predicted that in years to come this would not be an unusual set up to see in people's homes.