Are We Running Out of Room on the Internet?

There is concern in the Internet Technology circle that, with the phenomenal growth of mobile units, all of which utilize the internet, the system is going to run out of capacity in the future. In addition, the internet was originally designed as a client-server model which involves establishing a relationship between two people or organizations who then transfer data in the form of packets through fixed routes and between fixed stations. However, the profile of internet usage currently does not fit this model. Rather, with the growth in the number of mobile units, very little is fixed, certainly not routes and targets.

The result is that, not only is the need for additional broadband growing very fast, the basic model is out of touch with the current reality. The use of mobile units has gone from being a peripheral element of the internet to the predominant usage. This calls for a rethink of the architecture of the internet.

Currently there are major studies under way in this area. For a summary and some interesting links, check out this article.