Contrary to Comcast’s Cap, Internet Keeping Up?

From Wired –

Pay no attention to rumors that the internet is getting full: the internet can eat 50 eggs.

In fact, over the last 12 months, international net bandwidth in backbone grew 62 percent, while internet traffic grew only 53 percent and filled only 43 percent of the tubes’ capacity at peak times, according to a new report released by bandwidth-monitoring firm TeleGeography.

In short, the internet’s tubes are growing faster than even YouTube videos can fill them, and they’re in no danger of filling up anytime soon.

That’s despite the occasional Chicken Little proclamation from ISPs, pending caps on ‘unlimited’ internet usage and hand-wringing over peer-to-peer file sharing of movies such as Cool Hand Luke.

In the same time period — mid-2007 to mid-2008, Latin America and South Asia both doubled the capacity of their backbones — the net’s fiber-optic equivalent of a highway system.

Wholesale prices for sending and receiving data continue to fall, and with the cheapest prices in North America and Europe, where there’s still more abundant capacity, the Global Internet Geography report found.

Sorry I don’t have a copy of the report at hand. Wired’s intent was to lampoon the rationale of Comcast issuing a bandwidth cap. If taken at face value then the report would certainly seem to do that. But what about last leg loop? That’s were the bandwidth is generally the issue. Based on what I saw in the Wired piece that does not seem to be addressed.

[Point to note: I am not a Comcast fan boy. I think the cap was they wrong thing to do. ]

I would also have a bone to pick that the US is cheaper per Mb of transport. All you have to do is look at French or Korean pricing to know thats a false statement. Anybody have a comp copy of the report? I would love to read it.

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