Marc Andreessen

From 1995 to 2005, network bandwidth will grow and fall in price even faster than microprocessor power improves.

“I don't think it's too much of an overstatement to say that bandwidth is going to be increasing, overall, in scope – and decreasing in price – even faster than microprocessors are in terms of power over the next 10 years”

Said on

1 January 1995 · Interview with Thom Stark ("Marc Andreessen Interview Page"), 1995, logged in the Elon/Pew Predictions Database; database lists the date as 1995 (January 1 placeholder).

Source

Marc Andreessen interview with Thom Stark (Imagining the Internet predictions database) · Elon University

Should come true

2005

How sure they sounded

I don't think it's too much of an overstatement

Categories

Technology

Importance

3 of 5 · Cheap, abundant bandwidth underpinned the growth of the Internet industry.

Outcome

Partly right

Bandwidth did grow and cheapen enormously 1995-2005 (dial-up to multi-megabit broadband), but Nielsen's measurements put high-end user bandwidth growth at about 50% a year (~57x per decade) versus ~60% a year (~100x) for computer power, i.e. slower than processors for end users, though backbone capacity grew faster. Scored partial as a mixed result.

Evidence:

• https://www.nngroup.com/articles/law-of-bandwidth/