Cisco Report: Global Internet Traffic Projected to Quadruple by 2015

By Brian Boguhn
Updated: July 28, 2011

Making the news during the first few days of June was Cisco, predicting that the number of network connected devices will be more than 15 billion by 2015. The company’s fifth annual Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast also predicted that the total amount of global Internet traffic will quadruple by 2015, reaching 966 exabytes per year.

Comparing Numbers

The projected increase that Cisco sees in Internet traffic between 2014 and 2015 is 200 exabytes in and of itself. That number alone is greater than the total amount of Internet Protocol (IP) traffic generated globally in 2010. This is on the verge of reaching 1 zettabyte, which is equal to sextillion bytes, or one trillion gigabytes, all astounding numbers.

Here are some other numbers from the Cisco report:

• Global IP traffic is expected to reach 80.5 exabytes per month by 2015, up from 20.2 exabytes per month in 2010.
• 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, the Asia Pacific region will generate the most IP traffic, surpassing last year’s leader, North America.
• The Middle East and Africa are the fastest growing IP traffic regions, surpassing last year’s leader Latin America.
• The global online video community will increase to 1.5 billion users by 2015, up from 1 billion in 2010.
• Currently, PCs generate 97 percent of consumer Internet traffic. That number will fall to 87 percent in 2015 as other type of Web enabled consumer devices take hold.
• Global mobile Internet data traffic will increase 26 times from 2010 to 2015, to 6.3 exabytes per month.

What’s causing the Growth?

According to Cisco, four factors are driving global IP traffic growth:

• An increasing number of devices. Different types of smart machines are pushing up the demand for connectivity. By 2015, Cisco estimates that there will be nearly 15 billion network connection via devices and more than two connections for each person on earth.
• More Internet users. 40 percent of the world’s population will be on the Internet by 2015. That’s 3 billion Internet users.
• Faster broadband speed. The average fixed broadband speed is predicated to increase four-fold, going from 7 megabits per second currently to 28 Mbps in 2015. There has already been a doubling of broadband speed in the last year.
• More video. This number is the most staggering of all. By 2015, over 1 million video minutes – the equivalent of 674 days - will traverse the Internet every second.

What is Cisco doing with this Information?

Cisco is using the projected growth of the Internet and IP traffic as an opportunity to market its products. Says Suraj Shetty, Cisco’s VP of Worldwide Service Provider Marketing: “The explosive growth in Internet data traffic, especially video, creates an opportunity in the years ahead for optimizing and monetizing 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."