Cisco predicts online video boom

Cisco chief John Chambers is expecting traffic growth rates of up to 500 per cent

Video delivery over the internet will push traffic growth rates by 300 to 500 per cent, Cisco chief executive John Chambers said at the company's annual World Wide Analyst Conference in Santa Clara, California. 

Service providers in Japan are already experiencing such growth rates, as they have started experimenting with internet television services. Europe and North America grow at an annual rate of about 100 per cent, Chambers said.

The increase in network traffic is sparked not only by the move to high definition broadcast signals, but by the addition of new services.

"All television will be broadcast over the internet. [At sports games] they will not have one camera angle but 40 camera angles. You can watch the game from any angle you want," explained Chambers.

Broadcasters in the future will also add communication features that allow users to set up a video conference with friends and family and watch a game together or exchange messages about a show they are watching together.

The new services will force television to evolve from delivering plain data to becoming interactive. But this will make it hard for network equipment vendors such as Cisco to deliver the right solutions.

"Video is an art, not a science. Making it work is really, really difficult, " Chambers warned.

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