Cisco predicts 425m Internet users in MEA by 2019

GOING by the 10th yearly Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast 2015, by 2019, there will be nearly 3.9 billion global Internet users (more than 51 percent of the world’s population), up from 2.8 billion in 2014.

In Middle East and Africa, according to the report, Internet Protocol (IP) traffic will grow six-fold by 2019, a compound yearly growth rate of 44 per cent. Factors expected to drive traffic growth include global increases in Internet users, personal devices and machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, faster broadband speeds, and the adoption of advanced video services.

The VNI disclosed that Internet traffic will grow 6.8-fold from 2014 to 2019, a compound yearly growth rate of 47 per cent and there will be 2.1 billion networked devices in 2019, up from 1.4 billion in 2014.

The report noted that there were more Internet Users in 2014. According to it there were 2.8 billion Internet users, or 39 per cent of the world’s population of 7.2 billion. By 2019, there will be about 3.9 billion Internet users, or 51 percent of the world’s projected population of 7.6 billion

Besides, it noted that 78 per cent of all networked devices would be mobile-connected in 2019 with M2M modules accounting for 17 per cent (358.9 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to eight per cent (112.1 million) in 2014.

Cisco said Tablets will account for four per cent (93.1 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to two per cent (24.7 million) in 2014 while Smartphones will account for 31 per cent (652.0 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to 14 per cent (196.6 million) in 2014 and Non-Smartphones will account for 38.3 per cent (818.9 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to 68 per cent (943.6 million) in 2014.

The VNI also forecast that connected TVs would account for three per cent (69.4 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to two per cent (23.8 million) in 2014. In Middle East and Africa, TVs accounted for two per cent of total Internet traffic in 2014, and will be two per cent of total Internet traffic in 2019.

According to the General Manager, Cisco Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Dare Ogunlade, “as consumers, businesses and societies in Nigeria head towards the digital era with the Internet of Everything gaining momentum, VNI is even more relevant now in its 10th year than it was in its first. For our customers and the industry ecosystem as a whole, we look forward to continuing to report on these trends, the challenges they bring, and the immense opportunities ahead.