Internet could collapse in 8 years

The internet could collapse in eight years due to a 'capacity crunch', experts have warned.

Our ever-increasing demand for faster data, streaming services and more powerful computers is pushing our communications structure to the limit and led to a looming web crisis, it's claimed.

Leading engineers, physicists and telecoms companies warn that cables and fibre optics that carry information to people's laptops, tablets and smartphones will soon reach their limit and not be able to take any more data.

So far, engineers have managed to keep ahead of demand, increasing internet speeds 50-fold in the last decade alone.

But some experts believe that scientific advances have reached their limit and fibre optics can take no more data.

Professor Andrew Ellis, who has co-organised a meeting at London's Royal Society later this month to try to avert the crisis, told the Daily Mail that it would lead to a dramatic increase in costs - and higher bills.

"The deployment to market is about six to eight years behind the research lab - so within eight years that will be it, we can't get any more data in," he said.

"Demand is increasingly catching up. It is growing again and again, and it is harder and harder to keep ahead.

Source

 

[CatParty]

Gonna need stronger tubes

 

[Null]

google fibre.

 

[x.eight.six.systems]

Oh no! we'll have to pay money to upgrade fiber optic cables.

 

[Watcher]

Oh no! we'll have to pay money to upgrade fiber optic cables.

Yeah the problem with this argument is the main reason this is occurring is because of decaying infrastructure. Which everyone almost universally agrees should be focused upon by the government.

 

[KatsuKitty]

Parallelism. Roll out more cables. Costs will increase, but nothing that you couldn't afford. Article is clickbait.

 

[chimpburgers]

I don't buy it just like what happened with all the fearmongering when it came to the Y2k debacle or peak oil.

 

[AnOminous]

IMMINENT DEATH OF THE NET PREDICTED!

 

[HG 400]

I'm already recruiting for my post-apocalyptic rape gang.

 

[Holdek]

Article is clickbait.

I don't know much about The Mirror. Is it typically a clickbait operation?

 

[AnOminous]

I don't know much about The Mirror. Is it typically a clickbait operation?

Standard lowbrow British semi-right-ish publication. Think the fish wrapper version of clickbait and that's what it's been since it existed. Think New York Post.

 

[ShavedSheep]

There's been crises on data reaching limits tons of times before, they'll figure something out within eight years. Probably more satellites.

 

[AnimuGinger]

It would be as if millions of lolcows suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.

How would they sperg out without the Internet?

 

[Arctic]

Sounds a lot like the Y2K scare to me.

 

[nad7155]

This is why ham radio is still a viable option in a SHTF scenario.

And, you can have digital transmission, though very slow, via the ham and shortwave frequencies.

 

[Queen of Tarts]

We only have 8 more years of following Chris. Whatta shame.

Looks like some of us will have to move to Ruckersville for our CWC fix.

 

[tomgirl4life]

It's not even like it's gonna collapse, it just won't be able to increase in speed using current technology. I can already be watching an episode of Arrow and have the next one downloaded before I'm done, so I'm not worried about it.

 

[Holdek]

It would be as if millions of lolcows suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.

How would they sperg out without the Internet?

Their unmilked udders would burst and kill them dead.

 

[_blank_]

Sweet. Maybe we can turn this eventuality into a post-apocalyptic source of entertainment a la The Running Man or Hunger Games.

"Congratulations to the Jones family! For your contribution is keeping the population down and keeping the rich in control, your family will be given a month's worth of food rations, a box of 9mm bullets, and five days worth of high-speed internet!"

 

[Marvin]

The internet won't "collapse". It's just getting more expensive to add more users. So if you live in a developing country where they're just rolling out internet access, it's going to suck. Your ISP's upstream provider is going to pass on the costs down to you.