[3gv6] IPv6-only UE -- beta deployment report

[Cameron Byrne <cb.list6 at gmail.com>]

Folks,

Today for the first time i used the production national RAN network to
access an IPv6 PDP context on a lab GGSN.

The significance of this is that now, any where my network has RF
coverage (200+ million people in the USA), we can have native IPv6
connections -- today.  This is a primitive beta service that does not
have all the billing and other properties worked out yet, but folks
said build it (an IPv6 network)  and they (handsets, applications)
will come.  We built it, pretty easy actually.  Now we start the long
road to integrating provisioning, backend systems, ops training ...

Here is a blurry and low-quality video of the IPv6-only UE user
experience on the production network using today's software and
hardware in the RAN, Packet Core, and UE.  The UE is IPv6-only and has
the assistance of network-based DNS64 / NAT64 to access IPv4 content.
The UE does not have an IPv4 address or IPv4 PDP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFAZFGKIigk

A quick walk through of the video

1. Start with www.kame.net, native v6 content.
2. mobile.nytimes.com, which is IPv4 content via the NAT64 / DNS64
3. whatsmyip, to show NAT64 public side IPv4 address that the IPv4 content sees
4.  more ipv4 content at washington post
5.  comcast6.net, which shows my IPv6 address.  This is the IPv6
address of the UE [sorry it's blurry]
6.  more IPv4 content at yahoo mobile
7.  the facebook application, viewing photos.
8.  access an IPv4 IMAP (tcp 993) email account at GMX.com, and send an email.
9.  Google maps.  I did a previous search for coffee shops, and then
it also shows panning for map updates.

The T-Mobile representatives at the 3GPP-IETF conference in San
Francisco will have this phone and it will work anywhere there is
T-Mobile USA coverage as IPv6-only.

In a few months, I plan to launch an official beta "friendly user
trial" so that handset and application developers can attach to
T-Mobile's beta IPv6 APN to develop and innovate in an IPv6-only
environment.  I will post more details about that as we get closer to
launch.

Regards,
Cameron