AT&T: Internet to hit full capacity by 2010

[Brandonv]

U.S. telecommunications giant AT&T has claimed that, without investment, the Internet's current network architecture will reach the limits of its capacity by 2010.

Speaking at a Westminster eForum on Web 2.0 this week in London, Jim Cicconi, vice president of legislative affairs for AT&T, warned that the current systems that constitute the Internet will not be able to cope with the increasing amounts of video and user-generated content being uploaded.

"The surge in online content is at the center of the most dramatic changes affecting the Internet today," he said. "In three years' time, 20 typical households will generate more traffic than the entire Internet today."

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6237715.html

The part that I boldfaced sounds very unrealistic to me. I know that information technology tends to increase exponentially, but I don't see traffic increasing that much in a mere three years.

 

[Arrqh]

It's pretty much FUD.

Analysis: AT&T fear-mongering on 'net capacity mostly FUD

Although the total volume of content being pushed through the tubes is still growing, the growth rate of traffic through the Internet's backbones has actually slowed in recent years. The real bottleneck is the so-called last mile, the edges of the Internet, which is mostly copper and is limited in its scalability. So despite Cicconi's grim words, the so-called exaflood just isn't likely to drown AT&T's backbone.

 

[Daedalus12]

You got to love FUDs in the world of technology. They are always there and there can never be enough of them.

 

[PlixTixiplik]

You'd think he could at least make up some numbers that aren't insanely ridiculous! For 20 households in three years to equal the whole internet today (1.3 or 1.4 billion users, say 500 million households), the average household's internet usage would have to increase 25 million times, to give a ballpark figure!

-MEC

 

[Sheep]

You'd think he could at least make up some numbers that aren't insanely ridiculous! For 20 households in three years to equal the whole internet today (1.3 or 1.4 billion users, say 500 million households), the average household's internet usage would have to increase 25 million times, to give a ballpark figure!

-MEC

Never say never--it takes A LOT of bandwidth to power that internet-enabled toilet we'll all have in a few years.

 

[Hitman]

There are going to be some pretty fast net connections in 2010, for 20 households to equal all of the interweb of today... I can't wait for it...

 

[Noname Given]

U.S. telecommunications giant AT&T has claimed that, without investment, the Internet's current network architecture will reach the limits of its capacity by 2010.

Speaking at a Westminster eForum on Web 2.0 this week in London, Jim Cicconi, vice president of legislative affairs for AT&T, warned that the current systems that constitute the Internet will not be able to cope with the increasing amounts of video and user-generated content being uploaded.

"The surge in online content is at the center of the most dramatic changes affecting the Internet today," he said. "In three years' time, 20 typical households will generate more traffic than the entire Internet today."

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6237715.html

The part that I boldfaced sounds very unrealistic to me. I know that information technology tends to increase exponentially, but I don't see traffic increasing that much in a mere three years.

Yeah, yeah and "We NEED IPv6 (with an extra address octet) or the internet is going to RUN OUT of TCP/IP addresses..." (enter NAT and suddenly the issue went away).

AT&T wants one thing from you and one thing only - your money; and the abolishment of Net Neutrality and this is just another bit of fear-mongering to try and get more money from users of the Internet.