B2B interconnection bandwidth to grow to nearly 10X Internet traffic estimates

LIGHTWAVE: Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX), which supplies data center services globally, has released its second annual Global Interconnection Index (GXI), a market study in which Equinix analyzes worldwide traffic exchange. This year’s GXI estimates that private “Interconnection” bandwidth between businesses will grow to more than 8,200 Tbps by 2021. The figure, equivalent to 33 zettabytes of data exchange per year, is almost 10X what Cisco’s 2017 "Visual Networking Index" estimated for total Internet traffic at that time, Equinix points out (see "Cisco updates Cisco Visual Networking Index").

The new prediction represents a significant increase from that projected in the first GXI and calls for a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48%, almost twice the 26% CAGR predicted for global IP traffic during the same timeframe. Interconnection between enterprises and cloud and IT providers, projected to increase 98% annually through 2021, will drive much of this growth.

"Significant macro, technology, and regulatory trends are converging to form an unprecedented era of complexity and risk and forcing the integration of physical and digital worlds," said Sara Baack, chief marketing officer for Equinix, Inc. "The second volume of the Global Interconnection Index has found that companies are solving their increasing digital requirements by directly connecting to key business partners through Interconnection, as traditional forms of connectivity do not meet the demanding requirements of today's businesses."

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