Strategy Analytics: Explosive Growth in Consumer Broadband Internet Traffic Is Coming to an End

The latest research from Strategy Analytics’ Service Provider Strategies (SPS) service, “Is Fixed Broadband Traffic Growth Slowing?” finds that the explosive growth of consumer broadband Internet traffic is coming to an end. The annual growth rate of consumer broadband Internet traffic is expected to decline by 82% between 2018 and 2028.

Dan Grossman, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics and author of the report, said: “There is no doubt that the rate of traffic growth is declining. After all, nothing grows forever. The growth of broadband Internet traffic has been driven by a few phenomena, most recently the rise of streaming video. As consumers become saturated, we do not currently see another driver replacing it. Not 4K (UHD) or 8K (UHD2) video. Not augmented reality. Not virtual reality. Not streaming or gaming consoles. Not the smart home. Broadband Internet is a mature business, so the industry must plan for it.”

Phil Kendall, Director of Strategy Analytics, said: “We see little evidence that significant numbers of consumers are likely to require speeds beyond 100-300 Mbps over the next 10 years. There are many reasons why service providers need to offer higher headline rates, but the days of prioritizing investments in ‘speed and feeds’ are coming to an end, replaced by a focus on the need for latency, reliability and customer service as important differentiators.”

From techweb