Will IP video explosion cause a catastrophe?

According to the Cisco’s visual networking index, by 2013 IP traffic will be five times more than the amount it was in 2008. More people are connected to the Internet every day and the usage of bandwidth hungry applications like video in the coming years will definitely increase. So, will IP Video explosion cause a catastrophe?

This is a guest post by Alia Haley.

In the foreseeable future, the heavy dependence of netizens on the Internet will lead to rapid rise of global Internet network traffic. Global IP traffic in 2013 will be as high as 667 Exabyte. Such a figure is not just mind boggling, but also raises significant concerns about the future of the Internet and our Internet habits.

The bigger picture

According to the same report, there will be eleven billion square feet of screen space in future, from cell phones to television to laptops and PCs. A recent study by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) predicted that employee’s productivity increases with larger screens. Therefore, the future is going to be dominated by the world of videos. However, how will this influence our learning? According to Cisco, more videos mean more access to data, particularly visual data. Even today, we can see the benefits of interactive learning by the use of video based learning programs and documentaries. In future we can look forward to Internet libraries with millions of books and research papers, easily accessible and connected databases, and many more video based initiatives and exercises that look like a distant possibility today. Hence, a future based on increased video usage is going to be inevitable, at least in the field of education and learning.

The multitasking humans

Such massive amounts of IP traffic will eventually lead to hyperactive connectivity. The social networking scene of today would be a minion in comparison to the world of 2013. Hyperactive connectivity will naturally lead to multitasking by Internet users, businesses and cell phone users. A regular day would include watching television while working on the computer and simultaneously checking e-mail or listening to music. The Number of hours spent on IP sessions will go up from the current 36 hours to 48 hours in 2013.

The bandwidth barricade

Global IP traffic in 2013 will skyrocket to 667 Exabyte, which is two third of a zettabyte. A zettabyte is equal to a trillion gigabytes. The obvious question to ask is where will all this bandwidth come from? The possible solutions can include opening new wavelengths and compression that is more efficient. However, such hunger for bandwidth can lead to a crisis, can hamper economic growth. It can also affect the video-based learning system of the future. This can also lead to debates about the over dependence of learning through videos and should we be moving ahead in that direction? All the major Internet players are working toward a common ground to avoid this catastrophe.

About the author: Alia Haley is a passionate writer who also happens to be a technology freak. She is always on a lookout for latest gadgets and tech stuff and her recent purchase is a portable workstation.

Administrators note: Though the author is talking about Internet video consumption and bandwidth, Video is also going to take up large amounts of bandwidth within Local Area Networks due to applications like Video Conferencing, IP Video Surveillance, etc. IP Video will have a say on the network upgrade decisions in the future, if not already. So, what do you think? Can networks (both LAN/WAN) handle a video explosion?