The FIFA World Cup 2014, which starts today in Brazil, will drive 4.3 exabytes of IP traffic through video streaming and IP broadcast.
According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Forecast and Service Adoption for 2013 to 2018, the traffic expected to be generated during the football world cup will be three times the amount of monthly IP traffic currently generated by Brazil.
Internet traffic generated by the 60,000 people in a stadium and traveling to games is forecasted to surpass the busy-hour traffic from all 94 million smartphone subscribers in the country, the report said.
The latest Cisco report reflects widespread World Cup frenzy on the web, with social media companies vying with each other to attract users, which in turn are a means of revenue generation through advertisements.
The 2014 tournament, which is the first FIFA World Cup to be followed on smartphones, is drawing millions of fans to the web.
Facebook director of global accounts Will Platt-Higgins told Financial Times, "For the first time in 2014, we, all of us, are carrying around a mobile stadium in our pockets, where you will be watching, learning scores, team sheets, changes, injuries, substitutes – all of it – and sharing it. That is a hugely compelling thing for a marketer."
Facebook launched a special World Cup section Trending World Cup that provides latest updates, highlights and related posts. In another page called FacebookRef, the users will be provided with commentary on the matches.
The services will be available on the web as well as mobile devices. Facebook’s idea to make them available on feature phones, in addition to smartphones, is expected to bring more fans to its pages.
Facebook expects to reach 500 million football fans across the world, surpassing Twitter and even TV broadcasts.
Twitter earlier this week launched FIFA hashflags in addition to FIFA #WorldCup tweets and #Brazil2014 hashtags. Hashflags are hashtags containing flag emoticons of the participating countries.
Twitter is banking on 300 football players from 32 countries, who are its users, to attract fans to its service.
Meanwhile, FIFA has launched its official FIFAWorldCup account on Instagram to share imagery of the tournament. An official app was also launched for smartphone users to #joinin FIFA’s Global Stadium.
Photo courtesy of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
