Industry news

Study: Bandwidth demand to rocket

Network providers and ISPs will need to invest in infrastructure as internet demands look set to double by 2010, one new study suggests.

Research commissioned by CIP Technologies has found as online video and data services boom the annual bandwidth demand will surpass that of the past decade in 2010.

David Payne, of Swansea University's Institute of Advanced Telecommunication, forecasts usage could boom by between 40 to 100 times the levels seen today by 2018 if capacity is made available by operators.

"It is difficult to see how operators can economically grow existing network architectures to meet this demand, and further consideration of the types of networks and the technology deployed is required if they are to ensure profitability," he added.

Meanwhile, a new report by the FTTH (fibre to the home) Council Europe found those with such fibre connections are driving three times as much demand for bandwidth compared to users with ADSL connections.