IP traffic set to nearly triple over next five years

Global IP traffic is on track to nearly triple over the next five years as more than a billion new internet users come online, according to Cisco’s latest Visual Networking Index.

IP traffic is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 22% over the period of 2015 to 2020 to reach 194.4 exabytes per month, Cisco said

APAC will account for more than a third of global IP traffic in 2020, the study predicts. Total traffic in the region is expected to grow at a 22% CAGR to 67.8 exabytes per month.

By 2020, the company predicts that there will be around 4.1 billion internet users worldwide, up from 3 billion in 2015. Smartphone traffic accounted for 47% of total global IP traffic in 2015, and is expected to grow to account for a wide majority (71%) by 2020.

Due in part to the rapid growth of the IoT, global IP networks are expected to support up to 10 billion new devices and connections over the five-year forecast period, bringing the total up to 26.3 billion, or 3.4 devices and connections per capita.

Internet video will continue to dominate traffic, accounting for 79% of global internet traffic by 2020, up from 63% in 2015. Global networks will relay the equivalent of one million video minutes per second, Cisco predicts. HD and ultra HD video will make up 82% of internet video traffic.