By this point, it’s fairly common knowledge that the internet is absolutely loaded with video streaming traffic, but new figures from Cisco nevertheless put that reality in stark relief.
According to the company’s newest Visual Networking Index, video traffic will quadruple by 2022. At that point, video will account for 82% of all IP traffic, up from 75% today. By 2022, Cisco says that nearly half of all devices and connections will be video capable.
In addition to streaming video traffic growth, Cisco’s predictions also forecast increases in gaming and virtual reality traffic.
Gaming traffic is expected to grow nine-fold from 2017 to 2022, at which point it will account for 4% of overall IP traffic. Virtual and augmented reality traffic will also balloon and by 2022 it will reach 4.02 exabytes per month, up from 0.33 exabytes per month in 2017.
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“The size and complexity of the internet continues to grow in ways that many could not have imagined. Since we first started the VNI Forecast in 2005, traffic has increased 56-fold, amassing a 36% CAGR with more people, devices and applications accessing IP networks,” said Jonathan Davidson, senior vice president and general manager of the Service Provider Business at Cisco, in a statement. “Global service providers are focused on transforming their networks to better manage and route traffic, while delivering premium experiences. Our ongoing research helps us gain and share valuable insights into technology and architectural transitions our customers must make to succeed.”
In all, Cisco says global IP traffic could reach 396 exabytes per month by 2022, up from 122 exabytes per month in 2017. It will amount to 4.8 zettabytes of traffic per year by 2022.
Although the U.S. will still account for a lot of the traffic with 108 exabytes per month by 2022, the country’s project compound annual growth rate of 21% will lag behind other emerging regions. By 2022, the Asia-Pacific region will account for 173 exabytes per month by 2022, representing a 32% CAGR, and the Middle East and Africa will account for 21 exabytes per month, representing a 41% CAGR.