According to the 10th annual Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast, annual Internet Protocol (IP) traffic will triple between 2014 and 2019, when it will reach a record 2 zettabytes. Factors expected to drive traffic growth include global increases in Internet users, personal devices and machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, faster broadband speeds, and the adoption of advanced video services. Collectively, these variables are expected to create a global IP traffic compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23 percent – the first global CAGR increase in consecutive VNI forecasts in nearly a decade (e.g., last year’s projected CAGR for 2013 – 2018 was 21 percent).
Cisco predicts that global IP traffic will reach 168 exabytes per month by 2019, up from 59.9 exabytes per month in 2014. In 2019, nearly as much traffic will traverse global IP networks than all prior “Internet years” combined (from 1984 to the end of 2013). Several elements will shape IP traffic in the coming years:
Regional & Country IP Traffic Projections
Global VNI Traffic Breakdowns by Application Type
Global IP Video Traffic
Global Internet Video Traffic
HD and Ultra HD (4K) Internet Video Traffic
Global Consumer VoD Traffic
Global Business IP Traffic
Global VNI Traffic Breakdowns by Access Type
Global Fixed/Wired Traffic
Global Fixed/Wi-Fi Traffic
Global Mobile Data Traffic