(CNN) -- Don't panic, but we're running out of internet addresses.
Not domain names -- those website names that you see at the top of this page and which always start with some semblance of "http://" and "www".
We've got plenty of those.
But, according to statements from prominent internet thinkers this week, we may run out of internet protocol -- or IP -- addresses in less than a year.
IP addresses are numbers assigned to all of the devices -- computers, phones, cars, wireless sensors, etc. -- that log on to the internet.
According to the blog ReadWriteWeb, the internet is changing and evolving so quickly -- with so many new types of devices connecting -- that we're running out of numbers to assign to all of these Web-enabled electronics.
"The main reason for the concern? There's an explosion of data about to happen to the Web thanks largely to sensor data, smart grids, RFID and other Internet of Things data," Richard MacManuswrites on that site.
"Other reasons include the increase in mobile devices connecting to the Internet and the annual growth in user-generated content on the Web".
Only 4 billion internet addresses are possible under the current system, and those will all be exhausted in less than a year, John Curran, president and CEO of the American Registry for Internet Numbers, told ReadWriteWeb.
In a recent statement on YouTube, internet luminary and Google exec Vinton Cerf makes a similar prediction.
"We are at a cusp, I think, in the IP address space for internet," he said, noting that, if nothing changes, a "black market" for these internet addresses may develop.
So what should we do about this numbers shortage?
Well, make more numbers for starters.
CNN
