Are you ready for the big internet crunch?

(CNN) -- The internet as we know it is reaching its limits.

Within 18 months it is estimated that the number of new devices able to connect to the world wide web will plummet as we run out of "IP addresses" -- the unique codes that provide access to the internet for everything from PCs to smart phones.

"The internet as we know it will no longer be able to grow," Daniel Karrenberg, chief scientist at RIPE NCC, the organization that issues IP addresses in Europe, told CNN.

"That doesn't mean it will cease to function, but entry could be limited to new devices." Some estimate that by September 2011 the last large batches of addresses will be issued, meaning that months after that date there will be no new addresses available. More...

05-28-2010 16:32