Broadband speeds to reach 42 Mbps by 2018 from 16 Mbps in 2013: Cisco

Broadband speeds will reach 42 Mbps by 2018 from 16 Mbps in 2013, said Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Forecast and Service Adoption for 2013 to 2018.

The majority of broadband connections, estimated at 55 percent, will be faster than 10 Mbps by 2018. Average broadband speeds in Japan and South Korea will approach 100 Mbps by 2018.

Online video will be the fastest growing residential internet service with a CAGR of 10 percent from 2013-2018, growing from 1.2 billion users to 1.9 billion users by 2018.

Mobile location-based services will be the fastest growing consumer mobile service with a CAGR of 36 percent from 2013 to 2018, growing from 236 million users in 2013 to more than 1 billion users by 2018.

Desktop and personal videoconferencing will be the fastest growing business Internet service with a CAGR of 45 percent from 2013 to 2018, growing from 37 million users in 2013 to 238 million users by 2018.

Cisco forecast

Country Growth

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will generate the most IP traffic by 2018, with 47.6 exabytes (36 percent of the global IP traffic) per month. With the world’s largest population and the most devices/connections, APAC’s increased network usage will maintain its position as the top traffic-generating region through 2018.

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) region will continue to be the fastest growing IP traffic region from 2013 – 2018 with a five-fold growth and a 38 percent CAGR.

By 2018, the highest traffic-generating countries will be the United States with 37 exabytes per month and China with 18 exabytes per month.

The countries with the fastest IP traffic growth will be India with a 39 percent CAGR from 2013 to 2018, followed by Indonesia with a 37 percent CAGR.

Cisco suggestions for telecom service providers

Cisco suggested that service provider networks must adapt to the increasing number of devices, such as tablets, smartphones and M2M connections, that will need to be authenticated to access fixed/mobile networks with enhanced security and service prioritization.

The evolution of advanced video services, such as HD/ultra HD video, may create new bandwidth and scalability requirements for service providers. Residential, business and mobile consumers continue to have strong demand for advanced video services across all network and device types with quality of service, convenience, and price as key factors for success.

Continued business video adoption, such as HD and web-based video conferencing and business VoD may prompt greater growth in network virtualization and leveraging the Internet for video transmission with network ramifications for service providers and over-the-top providers.

4G network growth and service adoption may grow faster as mobile users continue to demand similar service and content experiences from their fixed and mobile networks. Wi-Fi is going to become increasingly important in providing offload for mobile devices and connectivity for a growing array of portable devices and M2M connections.