At the end of January this year, Movistar announced that it was beginning to deploy the Internet protocol IPv6 on its network. Well, as we could imagine, it has also reached O2. More than anything, because this low cost operator uses the mobile coverage of Telefónica and, therefore, of Movistar. So customers with a mobile line in this company can already try this protocol.
Although the IPv6 protocol is still the most prevalent, we are already seeing how operators are advancing towards this next improved version that adds a series of advantages. In addition, it must be taken into account that Movistar is the first to deploy this Internet protocol in the mobile network . And, for this very reason, all O2 customers benefit from this deployment.
What to do to activate IPv6 on O2
In itself, we would not have to configure much on the smartphone. Basically, to use the IPv6 protocol on the mobile we only have to have the ‘telefonica.es’ APN configured on the smartphone, as long as it is compatible with this protocol.
But, in general, most terminals with the Android operating system support it. On the other hand, in the case of Apple phones with iOS, it is not yet available, although the operator makes it clear that ‘ it will also be available for iOS shortly ‘.
To review it on Android, the steps may be different depending on the customization layer based on this operating system that your phone brand uses. However, you can try these steps to check it : Go to the mobile settings, enter Networks and Internet / Mobile networks, touch on Access point name / SIM card and look for the Edit tab. Inside, you will have to see APN ‘telefónica.es’. If it does not appear, tap on APN and add it.
Advantages with IPv6
The development of this Internet protocol has been carried out to improve the current protocol that we mentioned at the beginning. In addition, it is designed to solve the problem of address exhaustion. More than anything, because each device that uses the Internet is identified by its own IP address so that communication over the network works.
Taking this into account, we must also know a series of advantages that we find when using this version 6 protocol. For example, with it, smartphones will be able to have their own public addresses and will be able to stay connected to several networks simultaneously .
In addition to this, access to native content will be much faster than it was before by not having to go through NAT transformation stages. But, in any case, these are the main advantages in summary mode that we find with IPv6:
- Increased security – Support for end-to-end encryption and authentication.
- Improvement in the quality of service : better management of the mobile network and traffic.
- There is an improvement in the use of the network and access to more innovative services.
- Increased Addressability – This will allow more IP addresses to be available.
