Broadband ISP supplier BE Wholesale, the business division of home internet provider Be Broadband UK, has today released a list of its 2012 broadband predictions for the business internet / channel industry.

The predictions include a warning that next year's forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games in London will put an "enormous" strain on internet infrastructure and could even crash some office networks.

BE Wholesale's Top 3 Broadband Predictions for 2012

1. The cloud grows up.

2011 has seen higher uptake in the cloud across the channel as businesses look at more efficient ways to deal with data. 2012 will be about embracing the cloud and businesses will look to take advantage of the added value it offers. Upstream will become far more important, so reliable connectivity is key to ensuring client retention.

2. Unlimited usage and fixed pricing will be invaluable.

As the Olympic Games take over London, the strain on UK networks will increase and data usage could potentially be enormous, with many events taking place during business hours. This could play havoc by slowing down, or, in extreme cases, even crashing office networks, so it goes without saying that a reliable network is critical.

However just as important are the benefits of a fixed pricing model, together with unlimited usage, allowing businesses to control their Internet spend and avoid any additional expense when the Games are all over.

3. Mobile data gets serious.

4G implementation is planned for 2013 and mobile data traffic growth expected to mushroom 26-fold by 2015, helped along by a 10-fold increase in connection speeds. Businesses are realising that ‘The PC is no longer King’ and 2012 is the time when the channel can get involved with wholesale mobile data in the anticipation of 4G.

In fairness warnings like this tend to surface before every major event and they usually have a semblance of truth, although a competent office IT network should be able to handle it (or block video streaming traffic entirely, as many already do) and most of the major ISPs already have additional capacity to help them cope.