Worldwide, Internet traffic and broadband growth have defied the recession odds. That’s according to new analysis issued as financial experts say Europe and the United States are emerging from the economic downturn.
The proof starts with international Internet traffic rates. They skyrocketed to 79 percent this year, up from 61 percent in 2008, according to research firm TeleGeography. And emerging markets in Eastern Europe, South Asia and the Middle East comprised the fastest-growing regions. In fact, TeleGeography said, traffic from each of those areas has soared well over 100 percent so far in 2009.
But mature markets had their day in the spotlight, too. Peak traffic volumes on international links connected to the United States and Canada increased 59 percent in 2009.
TeleGeography attributes this momentum to carriers, saying they didn’t cut back on infrastructure spending as much as feared after the economy tanked one year ago.
“While some operators have postponed network upgrades, investments in new capacity have continued, and aggregate peak utilization remains well within historical ranges,” said TeleGeography Research Director Alan Mauldin.
That’s good news for the communications industry, which, in the United States at least, is about the see an infusion of millions of dollars thanks to the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program. Federal officials are slated to announce the first round of grant winners next week. The initiative is meant to create jobs and bring broadband to unserved and underserved regions of the country. But in some ways, it seems the private sector already is doing that.
Research firm ComScore said in mid-August that broadband growth in the United States is most pronounced in rural areas. Yes, penetration remains higher in more-populous parts of the country, but rural regions have experienced the most significant gains in the past two years, ComScore said. The growth has been driven by “greater price competition and increased consumer demand, as bandwidth-intense activities like video streaming and peer-to-peer sharing continue to grow,” said Brian Jurutka, vice president of telecommunications at comScore. “With low-speed DSL priced at about the same level as dial-up in many areas, there is little incentive for households to remain on dial-up.”
