New Study Reveals Growing Data Hunger of German Citizens is Pushing Internet Networks to the Brink
The increasing use of video-streaming and social media at Christmas and the turn of the year is putting a strain on the internet networks, a new study suggests. The study, commissioned by the Broadband Industry Association (Anga) and conducted by the analysis firm Goldmedia, found that the average data consumption per household will more than double by 2030, even with conservative estimates.
According to the “Trend Scenario” developed by the study’s authors, the average data traffic per household is expected to increase by a factor of 2.4 between 2024 and 2030. The main drivers of this growth are established applications such as video-streaming, social media, and cloud services, which have already become an integral part of daily life. In the video segment, changes are emerging: higher quality standards, such as 4K and 8K, are becoming more mainstream and are putting a strain on the already limited bandwidth reserves of DSL connections.
The study also highlights a shift in user behavior: younger generations are increasingly using live-streaming, which requires significantly higher bandwidth than classic on-demand services.
In the “Potential Scenario”, which takes into account the introduction of new technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Cloud Gaming, the data traffic per connection could even increase by a factor of 3.7 by 2030. These technologies are on the cusp of widespread adoption and could have a significant impact on internet usage from 2028 onwards.
The study suggests that the demand for fast and stable gigabit connections will continue to rise, making it inevitable for Germany to modernize its digital infrastructure to meet the growing demands of the coming years.
“Germany’s data highways are still too often dirt tracks” said Anga CEO Philipp Müller to the dpa news agency. “24 million households are still surfing on the 30-year-old DSL copper lines, which have long been outdated.”
Müller emphasized the need for urgent action from politics and the economy, calling the study a wake-up call for the government and industry. Germany must modernize its digital infrastructure to meet the growing demands of the coming years. The Anga CEO also called on the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Federal Network Agency to take action in the copper-glass migration, the transition from old DSL copper networks to gigabit-capable infrastructure.
The coalition government should not allow the transition to slow down and push Germany further behind in the European comparison, Müller added.