Internet Full By 2010?

AT&T has predicted that the Internet’s network architecture will be full by 2010 without significant investment.

It’s hard to imagine the Internet being full. Somehow the concept doesn’t seem to compute. But AT&T has predicted that the amount of video and Web2.0 content could mean just that by 2010 without significant investment in new infrastructure for the Net.   The Westminster eForum on Web 2.0, held last week in London, was considering issues regarding Web 2.0, but AT&T vice president forlegislative affairs, Jim Cicconi, dropped a bomb by warning that systems could become full in the next three years if nothing is done. He said,   "The surge in online content is at thecentre of the most dramatic changes affecting the internet today. In three years’ time, 20 typical households will generate more traffic than the entire internet today."   Those are direwords and a powerful warning. He claimed that his company is investing $19 billion in order to maintain its network, according to ZDNet, but that just the USwill require $55 billion in infrastructure investment, with $130 billion needed worldwide.   The problems will increase greatly as more content becomes high definition, he predicted.  "Eight hours of video is loaded onto YouTube every minute. Everything will become HD very soon and HD is seven to 10 times more bandwidth-hungry than typical video today. Video will be 80percent of all traffic by 2010, up from 30 percent today."