AT&T Sees Maxed-Out Internet by 2010

The vice president of legislative affairs for AT&T has warned that the current network architecture of the Internet will be at capacity by 2010 without billions of dollars of investment.AT&T's Jim Cicconi cited the increase in Internet video and user-generated content as the culprits. "The surge in online content is at the center of the most dramatic changes affecting the Internet today," he said. "In three years' time, 20 typical households will generate more traffic than the entire Internet today."

Cicconi claimed that the Internet needs at least $55 billion worth of work in the U.S. alone -- $130 billion worldwide -- to keep up with demand. He added that the Internet only exists at all because of the efforts of mostly private companies like his. "There is nothing magic or ethereal about the Internet--it is no more ethereal than the highway system. It is not created by an act of God, but upgraded and maintained by private investors," he said.CNET News