IPv4 address exhaustion might limit internet growth, but it will not cause the internet as it already exists to break suddenly.
If the routing table grows too fast (eg, due to fragmentation of the available address space) there is a very real chance that the internet as it currently exists will break suddenly for some users.
Not that IPv6 fixes this automatically -- it grows the routing table as well -- but v4 fragmentation does cause very real problems. You can't just pick addresses up of the floor and put them to use. Each routed block carries a very real and marginal cost for all those globally who service that route.
If the routing table grows too fast (eg, due to fragmentation of the available address space) there is a very real chance that the internet as it currently exists will break suddenly for some users.
Not that IPv6 fixes this automatically -- it grows the routing table as well -- but v4 fragmentation does cause very real problems. You can't just pick addresses up of the floor and put them to use. Each routed block carries a very real and marginal cost for all those globally who service that route.