Internet users to hit 27 million by 2019

South Africa will record an increase in internet usage due to the adoption of smart phones and other similar devices among users, according to various reports.

This projection is contained in a report by Cisco Visual Networking Index 2015, Fin24 reports.

The report projects that the number of internet users will grow to 27 million by 2019 from 15 million users as at 2014.

According to Cisco projections, Internet Protocol traffic will equally grow six-fold, meaning that it will record a 44% annual growth.

Online video consumption in the country, will grow by 73% and will account for 78% of IP traffic, the report further indicates.

“South Africans are well on their way to adopt video and by 2019 the citizens would have streamed 43 billion minutes of video content,” VernonThaver, chief technology officer at Cisco South Africa said. “This stat highlights that consumers and businesses alike are using rich media clips as they head towards the digital era with the Internet of Everything.”

Thaver also noted that interconnected devices will benefit a wide range of industries and consumers leading to increased internet users, sources say.