With
its broadband networks currently lagging in terms of speed and
reliability, Canada will be hard pressed to meet future Internet
traffic demands, according to a new report.
The
survey, commissioned by the Oxford Said Business School in London and
the Universidad de Oviedo in Spain, ranked Canada 27th out of 42
nations for future readiness of broadband standards. Researchers
indicated that Canada’s current networks are barely good enough to deal
with today’s online traffic, due to a lack of investment by providers.
In
order to meet the demands of online traffic today, the report indicated
that broadband networks need to be able to deliver download speeds at
3.75 megabits per second and uploads at one mbps with latency no
greater than 95 milliseconds. Twenty countries, including Canada, did
not meet the requirement.
The
researchers also indicated that as video usage becomes more popular
over the next few years, download and upload speeds will need to be
11.25 mbps and five mbps respectively with latency required at about 60
milliseconds or less.
The study was sponsored by networking giant Cisco Systems Inc.