Anatel Requirements for IPv6 Support in Equipment
Last updated: 31 August 2015
The IPv6 support in equipment was regulated in Brazil in 2014, in order to adequate the country’s internet infrastructure to the latest developments of the worldwide IP network.
In this article we will present the requirements proposed by ANATEL for equipment to provide IPv6 support.
IPv6 Regulation in Brazil
The first implementation of the IPv6 protocol in Brazil dates back to 1998, when the first backbone with IPv6 support was installed. At the beginning of 2014, ANATEL, which is the Brazilian Telecommunication Agency announced a work group named GT-IPv6 who were given the task to identify ways to increase the IPv6 adoption in Brazil.
One of the suggestions that has been implemented is for ANATEL to require IPv6 support in certain types of equipment in order that equipment obtain an ANATEL homologation and make the equipment legal for operation in Brazil.
The requirements from ANATEL were instituted to encourage the manufacturers to adopt IPv6 more quickly and to make a stable and standardized transition, supplying the urging demands. It is not guaranteed that older products that have already been certified by ANATEL will stop being sold, although it is expected that providers will offer updated equipment for clients under company policies.
Technical Requirements for IPv6 support
The requirements published by ANATEL are applied only to Category I and to products that use a DOCSIS interface, which is an international telecommunications standard that allows the addition of high-bandwidth data transfers to a cable TV system, routing functions integrated in the same equipment and products with a cellular network interface, such as GSM and 3G. The category includes IP telephones, mobile telephones, modems, small domestic routers and other terminals. The IPv6 requirements were set up in order to guarantee interconnection between devices.
ANATEL stated that the deployment of the new protocol by the providers must be gradual and, as long as the IPv4 network exists, both protocols must coexist and be able to communicate amongst themselves.
Depending on the product functionality, it has specific standards for the IPv6 protocol applied to them, called RFC. The RFC is a publication of the IETF, Internet Engineering Task Force, and the Internet Society. These protocols describe a series of methods, innovations or behaviours for the systems related to the internet, working as standards for its operation.
In order to get the homologation by ANATEL the products must apply all obligatory requirements for testing, presented as MUST in the RFC standards listed below. In RFC 6334, the item 5.9.5 is also applied.
| Functionality | Standard |
|---|---|
| Routing function | RFC 7084 - Basic Requirements for IPv6 Customer Edge Routers / RFC 6333 - Dual-Stack Lite Broadband Deployments Following IPv4 Exhaustion |
| Host function with fixed interfaces (LAN and WAN) | RFC 6334 - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) Option for Dual-Stack Lite / RFC 6434 - IPv6 Node Requirements |
| Terminal function with aerial interface for mobile services | RFC 7066 - IPv6 for Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Cellular Hosts |
| Terminal function with destined interface to Special Access Services, such as MTA, OTT. | CM-SP-eRouter-I10-130808 - Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specifications. IPv4 and IPv6 eRouter Specification |
The support for software almost follows the same regulations. The software must be able to communicate only in IPv4, only IPv6 or in dual-stack networks. If the network parameters in the remote or local server settings are included, it must also support the IPv6 protocol parameters.
Certification and Homologation Process
In a nutshell, the certification and homologation process requires a series of documents according to each step, which were previously defined by ANATEL and applies to all telecommunication equipment in Category I.
The certification step demands the following documents:
- Technical specification of the product
- Testing reports
- Evaluation of the Quality System - ISO 9001 - for Category I products
The homologation process requires the following documents:
- User manual in Brazilian Portuguese for the telecommunication terminal equipment destined for end users to access public interest telecommunication services
- ANATEL label
- Representation Letter, in case the product is imported
The entire process is composed of six steps, regarding the demands and results of each part of the process, applied to all telecommunication products in Brazil.
- The manufacturer or representative must select a Designate Certification Organism (OCD) and deliver all technical information of the product
- OCD analyses of the product and its characteristics, in order to determine its standards and applicable testing
- The manufacturer or representative must choose a laboratory for testing and supply a sample of the product
- The lab executes all predicted testing on the regulation and issues the Relatório de Ensaio, or Testing Report
- OCD have to analyse the testing results and issue the Certificado de Conformidade, the Compliance Certificate, and register with the Sistema de Gestão de Certificação e Homologação da ANATEL, or the ANATEL Certification and Homologation Management System
- ANATEL will analyse the documentation and issue the Certificado de Homologação, the Homologation Certificate
Deadlines for the certification of IPv6 compatible products
The certification date for the equipment has already been published by ANATEL, and are as follows:
- Equipment with terminal functions with interface destined to Special Access Services DOCSIS with routing function, such as cable modem and pay TV user terminal equipment - January 2015
- Equipment with terminal functions with aerial interface destined to mobile services, such as cellphones, vehicle trackers and tablets - expected January 2016