Global Internet traffic will quadruple by 2015:Cisco

Cisco predicts that the number of network-connected devices will be more than 15 billion, twice the world’s population, by 2015.

In the fifth annual Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast (2010-2015) released today, the company also said the total amount of global Internet traffic will quadruple by 2015 and reach 966 exabytes per year.

The projected increase of Internet traffic between 2014 and 2015 alone is 200 exabytes, which is greater than the total amount of Internet Protocol traffic generated globally in 2010, according to the forecast findings.

On the verge of reaching 1 zettabyte, which is equal to a sextillion bytes, or a trillion gigabytes by 2015, global IP traffic growth is driven by four primary factors, according to Cisco.

The first of these is an increasing number of devices such as f tablets, mobile phones, connected appliances and other smart machines is driving up the demand for connectivity.  By 2015, there will be nearly 15 billion network connections via devices — including machine-to-machine — and more than two connections for each person on earth.

The second is the increase in the number of Internet users, by 2015, there will be nearly 3 billion Internet users –more than 40% of the world’s projected population

Third, is the faster broadband speed which is expected to increase four-fold, from 7 megabits per second in 2010 to 28 Mbps in 2015. The average broadband speed has already doubled within the past year from 3.5 Mbps to 7 Mbps.

And finally, the increasing video minutes, by 2015, 1 million video minutes –the equivalent of 674 days –will traverse the Internet every second.

The forecast also predicted that global IP traffic is expected to reach 80.5 exabytes per month by 2015, up from approximately 20.2 exabytes per month in 201 and that the average global IP traffic in 2015 will reach 245 terabytes per second, equivalent to 200 million people streaming an HD movie (1.2 Mbps) simultaneously every day.

By 2015, according to VNI, the Asia Pacific region will generate the most IP traffic (24.1 exabytes per month), surpassing last year’s leader, North America (22.3 exabytes per month), for the top spot, while the fastest-growing IP-traffic region for the forecast period (2010 – 2015) is expected to be Middle East and Africa (which had a 52%CAGR, for an eightfold growth), surpassing last year’s leader Latin America (48% CAGR, sevenfold growth).

VNI also reported growth in the number of devices globally, while in2010, PCs generated 97% of consumer Internet traffic, it is  expected to fall to  87%  by 2015, demonstrating the impact that devices like tablets, smartphones and connected TVs are having on how consumers access and use the Internet. The report also suggested that accessing the Internet on Web-enabled TVs continues to grow and by 2015, 10% of global consumer Internet traffic and 18% of Internet video traffic will be consumed via TVs.

Suraj Shetty,VP of worldwide service provider marketing, Cisco said, “The explosive growth in Internet data traffic, especially video, creates an opportunity in the years ahead for optimising and monetising visual, virtual and mobile Internet experiences. As architect of the next-generation Internet, Cisco stands ready to help our customers not only accommodate this rapid expansion of Internet activity through the evolution of their networks but also help them thrive as a result of it.”