Published on the 19/06/2015 | Written by Vendor - media release

Research anticipates doubling of NZ IP traffic by 2019, with 35 million connected devices…

New Zealand is set to continue experiencing exponential growth in Internet usage and connected devices over the next four years, according to the 10th annual Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI). And, while the Internet of Things continues to take hold, it is consumer video which is driving the expected surge in traffic.

Geoff Lawrie, New Zealand Country Manager for Cisco, said: “Our research quantifies and clearly illustrates the scale of connectivity and the level of Internet usage that will be reached over the next four years, and we urge businesses to look at the predicted growth and get ready.”

The VNI predicts that IP traffic in New Zealand will increase two-and-a-half times by 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent. IP traffic will reach 267 Petabytes (1015) per month in 2019, up from 105 Petabytes per month in 2014.

Lawrie said the VNI has accurately predicted the world’s rapidly accelerating digital transformation for the last decade. “It shows that technology and connectedness are being embraced and driven by consumers faster than businesses have time to adapt or that the current network has the capacity to deliver. The implications of this are that growth and, importantly, consumer satisfaction will be hampered by companies’ technological shortfalls.”

Although the number of internet users in New Zealand will grow from 4 million in 2014 to 4.2 million in 2019 (or 88 per cent of the population), the growth in internet use comes more from the number of devices that will be connected and the type of activity undertaken when online. “This is a video story,” Lawrie said.

Encouraged by broadband speeds of around 46 Mbps, by 2019 people will be online for more hours of the day and video will account for a staggering 84 per cent of New Zealand’s total IP traffic.

The Cisco VNI research highlights that in New Zealand there will be 35 million networked devices by 2019, up from 17.5 million in 2014.
Other key facts:

• Wi-Fi will boost its dominance of wireless connectivity to reach 68 per cent of total traffic. Cellular will comprise 11 percent
• In 2019, mobile device traffic will be equivalent to 19 times the entire volume of the New Zealand Internet in 2005
• Business IP traffic is set to grow three-fold by 2019, a compound annual growth of 21%
• Business mobile data traffic will grow seven-fold, and business Internet video will grow more than four times – accounting for 71 per cent of all business Internet traffic – between 2014 and 2019.

Lawrie continued, “We are all aware that the Internet of Everything has arrived, yet few businesses have prepared for it. The numbers and trends are clear and sometimes quite amazing. Whether you look at the average number of connected devices per person by 2019 (more than seven), or consumer mobile data traffic growing seven-fold, or consumer internet video growing 2.9-fold, the opportunities and threats to every business are significant.”

“As New Zealand positions itself in the 21st century to compete globally, it is more important than ever that it builds the appropriate smart, connected digital infrastructure.”