With the widespread proliferation of smartphones and tablets around the world, global Internet traffic is surging like never before. A recent study released by Cisco (News - Alert) Visual Networking Index (VNI) shows that the use of IP networks worldwide is massive, and continues to grow at an unprecedented rate.
As per the Cisco VNI global IP traffic forecast for 2012 – 2017, which was released last month, there will be 3.6 billion global Internet users by 2017, up from 2.3 billion in 2012. Likewise, there will be 19 billion networked devices globally by 2017, up from 12 billion networked devices in 2012. During this period, the study indicates that average global broadband speed will increase 3.5x, going from 11.3 Mbps in 2012 to 39 Mbps in 2017. At this rate, the global IP traffic will reach an annual run rate of 1.4 zettabytes in 2017, up from 523 exabytes in 2012.
As the global traffic explodes, so do the networks. With multitude of networks carrying International IP traffic around the world, the market for IP transit has also been booming. But to sustain this growth across the globe, IP protocol must quickly transition to the IPv6 protocol. This is due to the fact that the number of available IPv4 addresses are declining at a rapid pace.
The report quotes Scott Hogg, chair-Emeritus, RMv6TF, as saying, “As IPv4 is rapidly running out of IP addresses to support the explosive number of devices connecting to the Internet, it is critical that the world embrace IPv6 as the new normal.” He adds, “IPv6, unlike its predecessor IPv4, essentially has an unlimited number of IP addresses available, so businesses across the globe can continue to use the Internet as a primary vehicle for collaboration, commerce, and innovation.”
The Cisco study identifies ten countries where Internet usage is rising at an impressive rate. These include the United States, China, India, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Germany, France, Indonesia, and Mexico. While the U.S. tops the list with 75 percent of the population connected to the Internet in 2012 and going to 85 percent in 2017, China takes the number two spot with 41 percent of the population connected in 2012 and rising to 66 percent in 2017.
Likewise, last year, the total number of networked devices in the U.S. was 1.6 billion, which is predicted to increase to about 2.7 billion. In the same time frame, the U.S. population will rise from 328 million to 342 million. By comparison, China’s networked devices will increase from approximately 2.1 billion in 2012 to 3.95 billion in 2017. During this period, China’s population will rise from 1.374 billion people to 1.403 billion. It has come a long way since September 1987, when the first Internet connection of mainland China was established between ICA Beijing and Karlsruhe University in Germany.
India, which is in the third place, had about 11 percent of the population connected to the Internet in 2012. Per Cisco’s study, this number will grow to about 26 percent in 2017. During the same period, the connected devices in India will increase from 1.15 billion in 2012 to 1.9 billion in 2017. The country’s population will surge from 1.27 billion in 2012 people to 1.35 billion.
Internet traffic in India will reach 2.5 exabytes per month in 2017, up from 393 petabytes per month in 2012, according to the Cisco survey. Furthermore, Cisco said that IP traffic in India will grow 6-fold from 2012 to 2017. Portable devices like smartphones and tablets will contribute 40 percent to IP traffic in 2017, which was only three percent in 2012.
Mexico is in the tenth spot with 51 million users, out of a population of 118 million in 2012. The study shows that by 2017, some 55 percent of Mexicans will be using Internet, while the country population is expected to rise to 125 million. Similarly, the connected devices will increase from 176 million in 2012 to 292 in 2017.
Edited by Blaise McNamee