Report the Cisco VNI: UHD video consumption and IoE will triple Internet traffic in 2018

Global IP traffic will increase almost threefold in the next four years due to the growth of Internet users and devices, to the higher speed of broadband and the growing consumption of Ultra High Definition video, as the Cisco VNI report points out.

The report data Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Forecast and Service Adoption 2013-2018 highlight that annual Internet traffic will multiply almost threefold, reaching 1,6 Zettabytes (more than 1,5 trillion GB) in the year 2018, generated mainly by fixed and mobile connections, which represents an interannual increase rate of 21% in the period analyzed.

In Spain, IP traffic will be multiplied by two between 2013 y 2018, until reaching 14,6 Annual exabytes (1,2 Monthly exabytes) regarding the 7 Annual exabytes recorded in 2013, with an annual growth rate of 16%.

In this sense, The composition of IP traffic will change enormously in the coming years, as can be seen from this report, to the point that in 2018, and for the first time in the history of the Internet, the majority of traffic will originate from devices other than the PC, while WiFi traffic will exceed wired traffic and HD video will generate more traffic than standard definition video.

In 2018 The traffic that will cross the networks on a global scale will be greater than the sum of all the traffic of previous years. Between 1984 y 2013 were generated 1,3 Zettabytes of IP traffic on a global scale, while in 2018 This volume will be about 1,6 Zettabytes.

Internet of Everything and the Soccer World Cup 2014

The Cisco VNI report also reveals that the Internet of Everything (IoE) is growing exponentially and that in 2018 there will be almost as many machine-to-machine connections (M2M) as inhabitants on Earth. So, For example, smart cars (smart cars) They will have almost four M2M modules per vehicle.

Coinciding with the start of the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil next 12 June, Millions of people are expected to watch the matches and/or their summaries over the Internet, which will mean that the streaming video and IP broadcasts of the championship will generate 4,3 Exabytes of traffic, three times the amount of IP traffic generated in Brazil in one month.

Besides, Internet traffic generated by 60.000 stadium spectators and people attending the event will predictably exceed the traffic generated during peak hours by all smartphones in Brazil.

As Doug Webster explains, vice president of product and solutions marketing at Cisco, “nine years ago, the first Cisco Visual Networking Index predicted that global IP traffic would reach the 'Zettabyte Era' at one trillion GB annually. The current report consolidates this claim by predicting a rate of 1,6 Zettabytes per year in 2018, more than thirteen times all the IP traffic generated in 2008. We are rapidly approaching the new 'Yottabyte Era,’ which implies enormous opportunities for those service providers and organizations that are prepared to take advantage of the advantages of the Internet of Everything”.

Evolution by region

In 2018 Asia-Pacific region will generate most of IP traffic, con 47,6 Monthly exabytes (36% of all global IP traffic). With the largest population in the world and the most devices/connections, will maintain leadership in traffic generation until 2018.

The region in which IP traffic will grow the fastest during the period analyzed will continue to be the Middle East and Africa (multiplying by five, with an annual growth rate of 38%).

The largest generators of IP traffic will be the United States (37 Monthly exabytes) and China (18 Monthly exabytes) in 2018, while India will be the country where IP traffic grows the fastest, with an interannual increase rate of 39% between 2013 y 2018, followed by Indonesia (37%).

Implications for service providers

Service provider networks will have to adapt to the growing number of devices - such as tablets, smartphones and M2M connections- with authentication systems to access fixed and mobile networks with greater security and intelligence.

The evolution of advanced video services(an HD y UHD) May increase bandwidth and scalability requirements due to strong demand from residential consumers, enterprise and mobile across all network and device types, being the quality of service, ease of use and price the main factors for the success of the offers.

The growing adoption of enterprise video – such as web conferencing and HD video-based video on demand- may lead to a further increase in network virtualization, as well as the use of the Internet for video transmission by both service providers and over-the-top providers (OTP).

IP networks will need to be flexible and intelligent enough to support the growing number of new or updated applications designed for fixed and mobile networks.. Many service providers are actively collaborating with application developers to differentiate their services.

The Cisco VNI Report 2013-2018 is based on analysis and real data about mobile data usage, prepared by independent analysts, with which this company makes its own estimates on global IP traffic and service adoption.