It's not news that, moving forward, digital is the fabric of media consumption. According to a study by ACG Research, the amount of bandwidth used by American households is expected to increase by 31 percent annually over the next five years.
Google recently announced plans to more than double the cities offering Google Fiber. The next generation network offers speeds 100 times faster than the average broadband connection today. Four new markets were selected, including two of North Carolina's largest cities - Charlotte and Raleigh.
What will drive the demand for such increased bandwidth so soon? The switch to more streaming, on-demand video will be a key driver. This key change in media consumption - where less linear television is watched - means more hyper-targeting will be necessary to reach the masses. Content consumption will continue to become more splintered across digital platforms and channels, while usage times rise.
We need not look further than the household of today to understand the components of the digital fabric that will continue to expand. It's also a reminder about where content strategies and paid media need to meet consumers.
Mom watches the evening news on HDTV while downloading files from a co-worker's e-mail sent earlier in the day. Dad is absorbed in a novel on his tablet while adjusting the thermostat with a device connected to a home automation system and occasionally checking Facebook to see recent articles shared. The daughter is streaming music on Spotify while laughing at YouTube videos and Snapchatting a friend down the street. She's also simultaneously annoying her brother who is trying to stream Netflix, browse the latest #tbt posts on Instagram, and text all at the same time (was there ever true multitasking before Generation Z?).
Household usage is only one part of the increased consumption scenario. The business community is riding the same bandwidth proliferation wave and will take full advantage of the likes of Google Fiber, upping the bandwidth ante. SFW welcomes the expansion to our own backyard and looks forward to putting threads into this expanding digital fabric.