US Edition 
Web could collapse as video demand soars
The internet could grind to a halt within two years under the pressure of booming demand for online video, experts have warned.
Soaring visitor numbers to video websites such as YouTube and the BBC's iPlayer are putting the copper wires, which underpin parts of the internet, under severe strain.
Experts warn that unless billions of pounds is spent on upgrading the web's infrastructure, it could slow down or even collapse. An internet meltdown would have a disastrous impact on the economy.
Larry Irving, co-chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance, an American industry group lobbying for universal improvements in the web's network, said: "Our streets in cities like London or New York were designed for a certain amount of traffic.
"There are times of the day when you can get around and times when there is congestion.
"London does not shut down, it carries on, but everything slows down. The internet is something like that."
Sections of the internet are supported by copper wires that were only intended to carry voice calls. Irving said the surge in transfers of video-related data means the risk of these wires becoming overloaded is real.
He warned that internet traffic in America was increasing at more than 50 per cent a year, while capacity was growing at only about 40 per cent. Britain is suffering a similar shortfall.
In Britain, demand for video websites has spiralled in the past 12 months. Online monitors Hitwise recorded a 178 per cent increase in visitors to video websites. Last year it was said that YouTube consumed as much capacity as the entire internet took up in 2000.
Bill Thompson, visiting lecturer at City University, London, said: "I think we're in trouble. If you've got kids on YouTube and parents on iPlayer and other things going on, it all starts to go very slow."
Consumers sharing video content, as well as downloading it, add to the drain.
Internet providers are being urged to spend billions of pounds to replace the copper wires which provide the final web link to homes with high-speed fibre optics.
Telecoms giant BT has a £10?billion upgrade plan which it will launch at the end of the month, but there are fears it will not cope with demand.
Anthony Walker, chief executive of Britain's Broadband Stakeholder Group, said: "There are big investment challenges ahead. Replacing copper with fibre optic, taking it closer to the consumer, we're talking about billions of pounds over almost a decade."