06/29/15
The Future of Broadband Data and Connectivity
Connect Ohio’s mission is committed to improving broadband access, adoption, and use today, but also forecasting growing need in the future. Connect Ohio’s forecasting becomes event more relevant with recent research related to Internet Protocol (IP). IP is the method by which data is sent from one computer to another via the Internet.
Global Internet Protocol traffic has increased over five times in the past five years and will continue to increase at least three times in the next four years. According to Forbes, in 2014 wired devices accounted for 54% of IP traffic. Yet, it is projected that, by 2019, wired devices will only account for 33% of all IP traffic, while Wi-Fi and mobile devices will account for 66%.
As the Forbes article notes, Cisco Systems recently released a whitepaper which states that annual IP traffic will triple between 2014 and 2019. Cisco also estimates that 24 billion devices will be online by 2019, an increase of 10 billion devices from the numbers established and networked in 2014. In addition, the average number of connected devices per person will increase from 2 to 3 by 2019.
Speed requirements are also rapidly increasing. Bits are tiny units of data. The higher the number of bits (e.g., megabits per second; gigabits per second), the faster a user’s ability is to use online resources. For more information, please see Connect Ohio’s recent blog, “Megabytes, Gigabytes, Megabits, and Gigabits, oh my!” Currently, the global fixed broadband speed is 23 Mbps, and that is defined as super-fast. Yet, it is projected that by 2019 the global fixed broadband speed will hit 43 Mbps.
The continual increase in online data consumption is largely due to high-definition (HD) video content and online streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu. In the future, with an estimated speed of 43 Mbps in 2019, nearly one million minutes of video content will cross the network every second!
Understanding the projected future demands on broadband networks, Connect Ohio is working with providers, stakeholders, and community leaders to better understand the broadband needs of Ohioans. By understanding current broadband access, adoption, and use statewide, we can better prepare for Ohio’s technology future.