Analytical Review on the Stakeholders Perceptions about IPv6 Readiness and their Implications to the Omani Higher Education Institutions

This paper describes the first stage of an internal grant provided by the Sultan Qaboos University to conduct a research project exploring the actual readiness of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to adopt a national migration plan to IPv6. Document analysis was used to derive necessary data on steps taken by the Omani concerned authorities to pave the way for the migration process. It was found that the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) established IPv6 project 10 years ago. It has issued a circular on ‘The National Migration Plan for Government Sector’informing all administrative units of the Sultanate about the preparation of the national plan to prepare detailed transition plans to migrate to IPv6 by the end of year 2020. Data on these agencies’(specifically higher education institutions) response is scarce and unclear. From the literature review, it was found that there is no research dedicated for the Omani HEIs IPv6 readiness. Therefore, next stage of the research project will investigate the actual readiness of HEIs as perceived by their stakeholders including ICT personnel, technical administrators, and senior administrators to implement the next generation of Internet protocol in these institutions.