In 2018, IPv4 address inventory depletion was expected in 2021. But this June, the Arcep (Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts), the telecoms gendarme, now estimates that there will be no more stocks as of May 2020. The deadline is expected to be even closer in the coming months.

3.506 million is the number of public addresses available on 26 June 2019

Arcep has made a countdown available to all on a weekly basis and can be consulted online via the following link: IPv4 countdown. 

This shortage of IPv4 addresses has two major consequences.

• Operators' subscribers will be forced to share the same IP address, which will restrict their use.
• 2 subscribers using the same IPv4 address, this will slow down cybercriminal investigations. 

Faced with the estimated shortage of IPv4 addresses in 2020, the transition to IPv6 is imperative.

Source: 01net .