Further to The responsibility for a sustainable digital future after the World Wide Web turned 30, CommsMEA elaborated on the latest Cisco report in this article dated March 12, 2019.
Middle East and Africa poised for world’s highest IP traffic growth – Cisco report
12 March 2019
The Middle East and Africa is poised for major IP traffic growth, according to Cisco.
Cisco’s Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast predicts 4.8 billion Internet users to be connected globally by 2022 – out of which 549 million will be living in the Middle East and Africa.
At its “Cisco Connect: Say Hello to the Future” event on March 12, held at the Atlantis The Palm resort at the end of Dubai’s iconic Palm Jumeirah, Cisco celebrated 30 years of the World Wide Web by sharing insights from the VNI Forecast to predict trends and behaviours evolving in the digital landscape in the region and globally.
Cisco’s VNI Forecast predicts four key drivers of IP traffic growth in the MEA region by 2022:
1. A 9% increase in the number of Internet users
The number of people using the Internet will grow from 23% of the region’s population in 2017 to 32%.
Digitisation features high on the national agendas of most of the region’s countries. Cisco estimates that the MEA region will have approximately 549 million Internet users and account for the highest growth rate in IP traffic worldwide, with a 41% increase from 2017.
2. An increasing number of connections
Cisco predicts there will be approximately 2.5 billion devices connected to the network, equating to 1.4 networked devices per capita in MEA.
Non-PC devices will drive 91% of regional Internet traffic by 2022. With projected average mobile network connection speeds to grow by as much as 28%, smartphones in particular are expected to make up 79% of Internet traffic in MEA, with 1.2 trillion connected smartphones by 2022. Cisco anticipates the enhanced connectivity to create new possibilities for AI and machine learning across industries and in smart homes.
3. Faster broadband speeds
As broadband connection speed is a key enabler for IP traffic growth, Cisco predicts the speeds will increase more than two-fold, from 2017 to 2022.
Accordingly, it is expected that broadband speeds in MEA will increase from 7.8Mbps in 2017 to 20.2Mbps by 2022 – enabling businesses and individuals to operate with greater speed and efficiency. As this speed continues to increase, large downloads will go from taking hours to a matter of minutes and eventually, seconds.
4. More media-rich content and applications
In terms of rich media, data-heavy files and videos are anticipated to make up 81% of the MEA region’s IP traffic by 2022, up from 65% in 2017.
The
predicted 16% increase in media-rich Internet traffic can be partially
attributed to the rapid growth of OOT film, television and music streaming
services in MEA. As online gaming also continues to grow in popularity, Cisco
predicts that the region will experience a five-fold increase in Internet
gaming traffic from 2017, making up 1 percent of total IP traffic in MEA by
2022.
Commenting on Cisco’s VNI Forecast and the changes predicted to affect MEA,
Cisco Middle East and Africa vice president David Meads said: “It is
undeniable that the Internet is growing at an exponential rate. As governments
continue to invest in infrastructure, a faster and stronger Internet opens the
doors to unprecedented opportunities for individuals and industry alike.”
He said more. “Digitisation is a critical force for economic growth, so businesses must adopt a mindset that is proactive, rather than reactive. DDoS attacks can represent up to 25% of a country’s total Internet traffic while they are occurring. By implementing the appropriate cyberdefence mechanisms, organizations can protect themselves throughout the full attack continuum – before, during and after an attack.”
Meads also added: “With nations such as the UAE championing innovation, the Internet has, and continues to change our lives in an infinite number of ways. Recognising the changes that are affecting MEA, government, policymakers and service providers must continue to unite in their efforts to create an accessible Internet that is available to the masses, underpinned by a secure framework to aid sustainable growth.”
