Video spurs explosion of Internet traffic

Internet traffic will have increased six fold by 2012 in a five-year period as more users view and post videos online, delegates at an Internet forum heard on Wednesday.

From 2007 to 2012, "traffic will increase sixfold," Robert Pepper, a vice president of Cisco, told the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

"It's growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46 percent and this is being driven by video," he said. "Video is the driver. Make no question about that."

Video overcomes barriers of language, local content and literacy, he said, allowing users to interact more easily with the Internet.

Pepper was addressing the IGF's fourth and final day at a "Preparing the Young Generations in the Digial Age: A Shared Responsibility" session, with Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak among those attending.

The Sharm el-Sheikh forum brought together more than 1,500 representatives of government, civil society, advocacy groups and the private sector from over 100 countries to discuss the future of the Internet.