Nokia demos first mobile IPv6 call

Nokia has demonstrated what it claims is the world's first mobile call made over the next-generation IPv6 internet protocol.

The call, made using Nokia's CDMA Dual-Stack handset, combined real-time streaming video with a handoff between two CDMA access networks using Mobile IPv6.

According to the mobile giant, Mobile IPv6 will form a central technology for next-generation mobile services, including large scale deployment of real-time services such as VoIP and broadcast services.

Key benefits of IPv6 include enhanced security and the ability to enable terminals to maintain IP connectivity while moving across networks with different access technologies. Mobile IPv6 also provides route optimisation techniques to reduce handoff latencies.

Nokia said that, while IPv4 has been an "overwhelming success", it has encountered a growing list of barriers, including the scarcity of new addresses.

While the company acknowledged that some operators have worked around this limitation by using network address translation (Nat), Nokia pointed out that this option is only really suitable in client/server-based internet applications.

Nat is far less usable in the peer-to-peer world of mobile communications and greatly limits the deployment of innovative network applications and services, Nokia stated.

"IPv6 is the next-generation of the internet protocol and has many advantages over IPv4 for network operators and end users," said Adam Gould, vice president of technology management and planning at Nokia.

"IPv6 allows the deployment of millions of always-on, IP-enabled devices, each with its own unique IP address.

"Additionally, Mobile IPv6 provides seamless mobility across access technologies (e.g. CDMA, WCDMA, wireless Lan) and is a powerful enabler for the next generation of services such as peer-to-peer, push and VoIP which demand always-on global reachability and seamless mobility."