You’d expect the World Cup to generate a lot of internet traffic, but exactly how much will surprise you

Given the amount of time each of us spends online every day, and the fact that smartphones were always pegged to be the second most popular means of keeping up with the World Cup, it should hardly be surprising that the World Cup is producing some serious online traffic. Exactly how much however is pretty darn impressive.

The video-streaming and IP broadcast of the World Cup for instance is anticipated to generate 4.3 exabytes of Internet traffic, which is three times the amount of monthly traffic generated by Brazil.

The really significant number however is that the internet traffic generated by the 60 000 people in a stadium and traveling to games is forecast to surpass the average busy-hour traffic from all 94-million smartphones in Brazil.

Those numbers, which come courtesy of global networking giant Cisco, are pretty mind-boggling but it seems that the amount of internet traffic the world produces will only continue to explode.

Cisco predicts for instance that global IP traffic is expected to reach 132 exabytes per month by 2018, which is the equivalent to:

• 8.8 billion screens streaming the FIFA World Cup final game in Ultra-HD/4K at the same time;
• 5.5 billion people binge-watching “Game of Thrones” Season 4 via video-on-demand in HD or 1.5 billion watching in Ultra-HD/4K;
• The season 3 premier of “House of Cards” streaming in Ultra-HD/4K on 24 billion screens at the same time;
• 940 quadrillion text messages; and
• 4.5 trillion YouTube clips.

What we do with that traffic is also set to change pretty dramatically. According to Cisco, by 2018, the majority of traffic will originate from devices other than personal computers (PCs) for the first time. Wi-Fi traffic will exceed wired traffic for the first time, and high-definition (HD) video will generate more traffic than standard-definition video.

It also reckons that Mobile and portable devices other than PCs will drive the majority of traffic by 2018. In 2013, 33 percent of IP traffic originated with non-PC devices. However, by 2018, the non-PC share of IP traffic will grow to 57%.

The area set to grow fastest is video. According to Cisco, online video will be the fastest-growing residential internet service growing from 1.2-billion users to 1.9-billion users by 2018. Desktop and personal videoconferencing meanwhile will be the fastest-growing business Internet service growing from 37-million users in 2013 to 238-million users by 2018.

The speed we do those activities at it also set to increase with broadband speeds apparently set reach 42 Mbps by 2018, up from 16 Mbps at the end of 2013.

All of which begs the question: how much data will be injected into watching 22 men chase a ball around a grass field by the time the next World Cup rolls around?