In order to thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, accelerate the building of a cyber power and solidly advance the large-scale deployment and in-depth application of IPv6, and in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Radio Management and the Provisions on the Administration of Radio Transmission Equipment and other laws and regulations, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) recently issued the Notice of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Matters Concerning IPv6 Protocol Capability Testing of Wireless Local Area Network Equipment in Radio Transmission Equipment Type Approval (hereinafter the Notice).

The main body of the Notice provides as follows:

It clarifies that WLAN equipment with an IPv6 address allocation function sold and used within China must apply for and obtain a type approval certificate in accordance with the relevant radio management provisions.

It clarifies that WLAN equipment shall have IPv6 address allocation enabled by default while allowing users to configure it themselves.

It requires type approval testing bodies to have IPv6 protocol testing capability. Fourth, it requires basic telecommunications operators to support and encourage users to access the internet through IPv6 WLAN equipment, while clarifying that users may still access the internet through existing other WLAN equipment.

The annex to the Notice sets out the technical requirements and test methods for the IPv6 protocol capability of WLAN equipment.

From 1 December 2023, when enterprises apply for type approval of WLAN equipment, IPv6 protocol capability testing must be carried out in accordance with the technical requirements and test methods specified in this Notice. At the same time, from that date, the enterprises concerned shall stop manufacturing or importing WLAN equipment that does not meet the requirements of this Notice. However, WLAN equipment manufactured or imported before that date may continue to be sold and used until the end of its service life.

The promulgation of the Notice will not affect users' use of WLAN equipment. The parts of the Notice concerning users' use of WLAN equipment are mainly:

The WLAN equipment used by consumers shall have IPv6 enabled by default, and this function shall be enabled by default by the manufacturer when the product leaves the factory.

Users' ability to configure the IPv6 function of WLAN equipment themselves is retained, that is, users may choose whether to enable IPv6, and the configuration method shall be clearly stated in the product instructions.

For WLAN equipment already in use that supports IPv6 and has not been upgraded, users can still access the internet normally. Operators or other parties may not impose corresponding restrictions on use.

The annex to the Notice defines three basic technical requirements:

WLAN equipment with a public IP address allocation function shall support the IPv6 protocol and have IPv6 enabled by default.

When WLAN equipment with a public IP address allocation function operates in layer-2 bridge mode, the equipment shall support transparent transmission of IPv6 data packets.

When WLAN equipment with a public IP address allocation function operates in layer-3 routing mode, the equipment shall support allocation of IPv6 addresses to access users and forwarding of users' IPv6 data packets.

The annex to the Notice sets out three test scenarios:

The scenario where the network equipment operates in layer-3 routing mode and the WLAN equipment operates in layer-2 bridge mode.

The scenario where the network equipment operates in layer-2 bridge mode and the WLAN equipment operates in layer-3 routing mode.

The scenario where both the network equipment and the WLAN equipment operate in layer-3 routing mode.

Scenarios 1 and 2 are mandatory and scenario 3 is optional.

For each test scenario the annex gives specific test methods and decision criteria, clarifying the test environment, test steps, expected results and decision criteria. The test results serve as the basis for type approval.