February 15, 2012 - 12:36 AMT
Internet-connected devices to outnumber individuals in 2016

According to Cisco's Visual Networking Index Forecast there will be more than 10 billion Internet-connected devices in 2016, more than the projected world population of 7.3 billion individuals, BizReport says.

As a result, global mobile data traffic is expected to rise 18-fold to 10.8 exabytes per month. That's a run rate of 130 exabytes per year, the equivalent to 33 billion DVDs or 4.3 quadrillion MP3 files (music/audio).

"By 2016, 60% of mobile users - 3 billion people worldwide - will belong to the 'Gigabyte Club,' each generating more than one gigabyte of mobile data traffic per month," said Suraj Shetty, vice president of product and solutions marketing at Cisco.

"By contrast, in 2011, only one-half percent of mobile users qualified. This impressive growth in mobile traffic will be driven by more powerful devices, notably smartphones and tablets, using faster networks, such as 4G and Wi-Fi, to access more applications, particularly data-intensive video."