IGF 2017 WS #170 Contextualising IPv6 within the Internet of Things (IoT)

Content of the Session:
While the agenda for the session is flexible, it will touch on major pillars of IoT development including historical context, taxonomy, communication requirements under discussion in various spaces and prominent IoT projects (with their attendant successes and learnings). The questions for each round are subject to change depending on the agreement of speakers and participants, providing that newly proposed questions remain within the scope of the session.

5 mins
The Onsite Moderator introduces the topic, session format and speakers
15 mins
Speakers make general remarks on key issues to improve understanding and participation during the session. These issues include: a definition and taxonomy of IoT; actors and spaces where IoT dialogue is situated; and events leading to the preeminence of IPv6-for-IoT debate.
10 mins
The Onsite Moderator delivers the first round of questions (Identification and Addressing Needs for IoT) and encourages interactions from both onsite and remote participants
10 mins
The Onsite Moderator delivers the second round of questions (Communication Protocols, and in particular the impact of IPv4 to IPv6 transition for IoT) and encourages interactions from both onsite and remote participants
10 mins
The Onsite Moderator delivers the third round of questions (IoT interventions, especially in the developing world) and encourages interactions from both onsite and remote participants
10 mins
The Onsite Moderator delivers the fourth round of questions (Ongoing Techno-political Concerns and Progress, e.g. Security and Privacy, and the creation of new value chains) and encourages interactions from both onsite and remote participants

Relevance of the Session:
This session explores identification and addressing needs for the IoT with special attention paid to the linkages between IoT development and IPv6. The session aims to capitalise on narratives developed within the IETF, ITU, European Commission (as regards the FP7 European research project, IoT6) and other spaces.

Gartner, Inc. predicts that there will be up to 20.8 billion connected things by 2020, as millions of new things are getting connected every day. While estimates vary among sources, exponentiality within the Internet of Things (IoT) is certain.

Is scalability and end-to-end connectivity the most compelling reasons to link IPv6 to IoT? It would be deterministic to think that IoT must be moored to IPv6 to reach its full potential albeit IPv6’s features. IPv6 has evident numerical advantages when compared to IPv4 and other protocols, but can also face challenges within the context of the interaction of things - devices and sensors - in open and semi-open networks.

It is important to comprehend IoT development and, in particular, its network models and communications protocols. It must also be acknowledged that IoT debate is not new. The preeminence of identification and addressing within IoT comes at a time where there is a confluence of several trends including the rise of, inter alia, IP use (and the effects of IPv4 exhaustion in particular), ubiquitous connectivity, miniaturisation, data analytics and cloud computing.

The concept of “service provider” in the IoT suddenly is much wider. A supermarket chain becomes a service provider to the set of customers of smart refrigerators. The creation of new value chains associated with new families of “service providers” in the area of IoT needs to be addressed since new oligopolies / de facto monopolies could rise from the wider deployment of the IoT and users’ interests should be taken into account.

Furthermore, there are pragmatic considerations within IoT development that are largely focused on the techno-political paradigm (e.g. security and privacy concerns; proprietary addressing schemes; current deployment/ubiquity of IPv6 across industries; cost implications in designing the architecture of devices and sensors; etc.). In the wake of IPv4 exhaustion, and given the existing range of IoT interventions, enhanced bottom-up dialogue among interest groups will be beneficial to all spaces that are concerned by the identification and addressing of ‘things’. The outcomes of this session will be particularly useful for people interested or involved in standards and policy development.

From a high-level, strategic standpoint, this session is aligned to Goal 9 of the SDGs, i.e. “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.” This debate can be situated in current deliberations for IoT interventions across the developing world, especially in the sectors of health, agriculture and financial services among others.

Tag 1: Internet of Things
Tag 2: Critical Internet Resources
Tag 3: Internet Technology

Interventions:
Speakers will generally serve as facilitators of rounds of discussions based on their areas of specialisation and/or interest. They will be expected to socialise complex concepts and exchange information based on praxis, while making brief statements (not exclusively) during the question rounds.

Diversity:
Diversity in this session clearly encompasses stakeholder groups, geography and policy perspectives. The session is expected to blend contributions from practitioners who are at the intersections of technology, policies and politics. The first two rounds of questions will be techno-centric and will encourage debate among technical community members while the last two questions are anchored in IoT applications and policy, focussing more on interventions from government and private sector stakeholders. While recognition is given to the main spaces for IoT debate, emphasis is placed on interventions highlighting nuances within the Global South, especially where stakeholders may be less involved in the main spaces for IoT debate (IETF, ITU, etc.).

Onsite Moderator: Oscar Robles
Online Moderator: Kevon Swift
Rapporteur: Kevon Swift

Online Participation:
Online participation will be enabled for this session. Contributions from remote participants will be read aloud in the room after every two onsite interactions. Remote participants will also be encouraged to make suggests to the session format and questions.

Discussion facilitation:
The Onsite Moderator may assist participants with the framing of interactions but must ensure in delivery that the intent of those contributions is not skewed towards his/her bias. The Onsite Moderator will be expected to manage speaking times for speakers and participants, and liaise with the Online Moderator to effectively blend onsite and online discussions.

The Onsite Moderator will first query remote participants about the appropriateness of the agenda and open questions, with the possibility that adjustments could be suggested by remote participants. After the speakers’ remarks, the Onsite Moderator will then invite the Online Moderator to read the contributions of remote participants after every two onsite interactions.

Conducted a Workshop in IGF before?: Yes
Link to Report: https://www.intgovforum.org/filedepot_download/4098/430