Cisco: video to represent 80% of web traffic in 2021

Video will represent 80% of all internet traffic in 2021, up from 67% in 2016, according to new research.

Cisco’s 12th Visual Networking Index (VNI) forecast claims that video will continue to “dominate IP traffic and overall internet traffic growth” and predicts that there will be nearly 1.9 billion internet video users, excluding mobile-only, by 2021 – up from 1.4 billion in 2016.

Cisco estimates that the world will reach three trillion internet video minutes per month by 2021 – the equivalent of five million years of video per month or about one million video minutes every second.

Live internet video is also tipped to increase 15-fold and account for 13% of internet video traffic by 2021, due to a rise in streaming from TV apps and in personal live streaming on social networks.

Cisco said that by 2021, virtual and augmented reality traffic will also increase 20-fold, representing 1% of global entertainment traffic.

“As global digital transformation continues to impact billions of consumers and businesses, the network and security will be essential to support the future of the Internet,” said Yvette Kanouff, senior VP and GM of service provider business, Cisco.