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Could Boom in Online Video Crash the Web?
A Chicago Tribune article quotes telecom experts who worry that there is a "fundamental wall" that the Web is heading toward as a result of increased viewership for online videos, with traffic volumes growing much faster than computing power and network operators making insufficient investments in increasing their capacity.
Some telecom companies are contending that legislation supporting "'net neutrality" would exacerbate these problems, but, either way, most agree that the problem is real.
David Tansley, a London-based Deloitte partner, said that "so many business models assume Internet capacity to be ubiquitous and inexpensive that capacity isn't seen as a limiting factor in applications.
"Yet little thought is given to how infrastructure providers may be [enticed] to keep investing."
While the network was famously overbuilt during enthusiasm of the 1990s Internet bubble, much of that capacity is being used now or soon will be, Tansley said, and network operators are faced with making significant investment to expand capacity further to meet growing demands fueled largely by video applications.
"2007 may be the year of the tipping point where growth in capacity cannot cope with use," Tansley said.
