TECHNICAL
At this stage, and using Figure 4 as a reference model, I ask “at what point(s) is Internet/internet traffic measured and (more importantly, perhaps), what is the measurement unit?” Are there lessons to be learnt from the circuit switching world?
on international standards and how they apply to Internet traffic (if at all). In scanning the literature, I have identified three examples on the use of the term Internet traffic - these are briefly summarised in Table 3.1 below.
A note on ISP, Peering, and Telco
Figure 3 is a good illustration of an Internet model with several interconnected parties delivering Internet services. The role of peering is briefly discussed in Section 3, but fundamentally, exchanging “flow” is essential to the success of the Internet (which may change – see opening comments within the introduction to this paper). Where I do struggle is understanding where the “Telco” sits within the peering process? Is the Telco nothing more than a Tier 1 provider and if so, we must stop using the term Telco to avoid further confusion?
Internet Traffic Introduction
Here, I briefly introduce initial thoughts on this topic based on examples taken from the public domain. In addition, it is a good opportunity to comment
Source
Definitions and Metrics
Observations
Internet traffic growth: Sources and implications, 2003, https:// www-users.cse.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/itcom.internet.growth.pdf An example from this paper.
Andrew Odlyzko https://www-users.cse. umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/ networks.html
Odlykzo is also a highly respected mathematician i.e., is not subject to hyperbole. Of note are Odlykzo’s conclusions from this paper and I quote “Internet traffic continues to grow vigorously, close to 100% per year.”
PATTERNS OF INTERNET TRAFFIC GROWTH,2021 http://www.commcham.com/pubs/2021/10/5/patterns-of-internet- traffic-growth-2021.html Example analysis from this paper.
Communications Chambers http://www.commcham. com/
Communications Chambers are active participants ongoing discussions on Internet growth, so similarly to Odlykzo, they are worthy participants within ongoing discussions. I understand that the data used by Communications Chambers in this illustration is drawn from the public domain. The paper identified here is amongst those published by Communication Chambers on this topic.
“Traffic” is mentioned, but I am not sure this definition is widely adopted.
Telegeography https://www2. telegeography.com/
Annex within “State of the Network (2022)” i.e., Peak Traffic “is the 95th percentile of traffic across a link in one month. This is calculated by dividing one month’s traffic into five-minute increments, ranking the traffic levels of each increment, and removing the top 5%.”
Volume 47 No.4 DECEMBER 2025
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