In just another four years, traffic over the Internet is expected to quadruple – in other words, that’s an increase to the tune of 200 exabytes, a number greater than the total amount of Internet Protocol traffic generated globally last year alone, according to the latest findings by Cisco.
The forecast is part of the CiscoVisual Networking Index (VNI), an ongoing initiative to track and forecast the impact of visual networking applications. The results were released June 1.
According to Cisco, global IP traffic has increased eightfold over the past five years, and will increase fourfold over the next five years. Overall, IP traffic will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 32 percent from 2010 to 2015.
By 2015, network traffic will have quadrupled to 966 exabytes per year as a content hungry Internet users gain access to the Web on more than 15 billion network connected devices, outnumbering people 2 to 1.
IP traffic is growing fastest in Latin America, followed closely by the Middle East and Africa. Traffic in Latin America will grow at a CAGR of 50 percent between 2010 and 2015, Cisco predicted, while IP traffic in North America will reach 22 exabytes per month by 2015, at a CAGR of 30 percent. Monthly Internet traffic in North America will generate 4 billion DVDs’ worth of traffic, or 14.5 exabytes per month.
Cisco’s report also predicts that in 2015, the gigabyte equivalent of all movies ever made will cross global IP networks every five minutes, which will deliver 7.3 petabytes every five minutes.
Cisco’s figures bring to light the need for companies to hurry up and transition to IPv6, pointed out one analyst.
“Each network connected device needs an iPv4 address, and those are in short supply,” wrote Maximum PC’s Paul Lilly.
In 2015, there will be 6 million Internet households worldwide generating over a terabyte per month in Internet traffic, Cisco predicts, up from just a few hundred thousand in 2010. There will be over 20 million households generating half a terabyte per month in 2015.
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Erin Harrison is Executive Editor, Strategic Initiatives, for TMC, where she oversees the company's strategic editorial initiatives, including the launch of several new print and online initiatives. She plays an active role in the print publications and TechZone360, covering IP communications, information technology and other related topics. To read more of Erin's articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell