Can spending on networks keep up with bandwidth demand?

Can spending on networks keep up with bandwidth demand?

A new report from IDC has predicted that global internet traffic will increase by 32 per cent each year until 2015. However, the average spend on network equipment is only expected to increase by 10 per cent per year.

The research, carried out by IDC, forecasts an 8 per cent increase in spending on ethernet equipment between 2011 and 2014. As a result of these figures, the IDC claims that internet service providers may be wondering how they will meet the demand without more spending on the infrastructure to allow it.

The traffic increase is being blamed largely on the growing number of people watching video online – with the emergence of video streaming services, via the internet, to our TVs, for example.

The increased use of smartphones all over the world is another reason demand for bandwidth is growing exponentially. By 2014, more than 3 billion smartphone devices will be in use globally. These devices make the internet more accessible than ever, this enables them to stay online for longer and from a greater number of locations.

The final reason given is simply the growing user base. As internet use becomes normal in more and more developing countries, the user base is growing all the time.

There are several scenarios that IDC has designed to work around this problem, including the reduction of bandwidth costs by 18 per cent. Economies of scale could also help providers to increase availability without receiving much more investment. Alternatively, providers need to increase the utilisation rate of ethernet ports or build faster ports in the first place, claims the IDC.

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