INTERNET
Massive growth ahead in Net traffic
28-02-2003
by Andrew McLindon
Traffic over the Internet is set to double every year for the next five years, according to the latest research.
IDC has predicted that the volume of Internet traffic generated by end users worldwide will nearly double annually between 2002 and 2007. If this does become the case, then it will mean an increase in traffic from 180 petabits per day in 2002 to 5,175 petabits per day by the end of 2007.
In other words, by 2007, Internet users will access, download and share the information equivalent of the world's largest library, the US Library of Congress (which has over 530 miles of bookshelves), more than 64,000 times over, every day.
This news is likely to be a major boost for telecoms equipment suppliers such as Nortel, Cisco and Ericsson, who have suffered greatly during the tech downturn partly because of a fall in demand for their products caused by a perceived slow-down in Internet traffic growth rates.
"Some industry observers have speculated that slowing growth in Internet traffic is at the root of the current telecom malaise, but IDC research shows that not only is Internet traffic growth strong, but it will continue at near triple digit rates over the next five years," said Sterling Perrin, senior research analyst, optical networks, IDC.
Perrin added that this surge in Internet traffic will increase demand for telecoms equipment, particularly in the optical market.
"As long as the total amount of voice and data traffic on the network continues to increase, then the need will arise for carriers to buy equipment, such as next-generation optical, that transports and manages it cheaper and more efficiently than the earlier generation of pure SONET-based products," he remarked.
The IDC study also said that although the growth in the number of Internet users will continue to be an important driver of traffic, the migration of Web surfers to broadband would be even more significant.
The research firm predicted that greater adoption of high-speed Internet access by consumers globally will make broadband the fastest growing and largest segment in terms of Internet traffic volume generated. IDC also predicted that consumers will account for 60 percent of all Internet traffic generated, compared to around 40 percent for business users, by 2007. Mobile Internet users are expected to have only a minimal impact on overall traffic volume during this time.
Creating successful email surveys: Denise Cox of email specialist Newsweaver argues that you can tap into your readers' likes or dislikes by surveying them.
