IDC says broadband traffic to rise by 50% year on year

Wednesday, March 14th 2012

Broadband traffic is expected to increase by approximately 50 per cent year on year between 2010 and 2015.

IDC says broadband traffic to rise by 50% year on year

Internet-generated broadband traffic is set to rise by around 50 per cent year on year by 2015, according to new research from the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Demand for mobile and wireline broadband will increase from 9,665 petabytes per month in 2010 to 116,539 petabytes per month in 2015, driven by web browsing, peer-to-peer filesharing, audio and video streaming, and a host of other applications.

The IDC report claimed a significant amount of the rise in data traffic will be generated by so-called "power users", who consume a "disproportionate amount" of bandwidth, causing problems for many network operators.

Bandwidth was also found to directly correlate with broadband speeds. Commenting on the relationship between usage and capacity, the organisation said an upturn in capability will ultimately result in the widespread adoption of more online applications.

In addition, the IDC argued that a new level of demand for bandwidth will be driven by high-definition video content, with connected TVs, iPads and other tablets and mobile devices set to account for more than 50 per cent of all video and audio streaming.

Matt Davis, director of consumer and small and medium business telecom services at the market intelligence firm, said: "The enormous growth in end-user demand for both fixed and mobile broadband services is staggering.

"Despite enormous growth projected in IDC's forecast, it is difficult to overestimate this phenomenon. Fixed and mobile operators will have to deal with a new reality that will tax network resources to the limit - and perhaps past the limit."

Last month, the latest MobileTrends report from Allot Communications - covering the second half of 2011 - revealed that more than two-fifths of mobile broadband data traffic during the six-month period came from video streaming services.

Over the half-year, video streaming activity grew significantly by 88 per cent year on year, resulting in an 83 per cent increase in overall bandwidth.

IDC says broadband traffic to rise by 50% year on year

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