Internet players such as Google, and Facebook are spending over $30 billion per year in physical networks, facilities and equipment, research shows.
Pure online companies and the online businesses of multi-platform companies spent nearly $100 billion between them on physical internet infrastructure between 2011 and 2013, Analysis Mason said.
A report from the firm, commissioned by Google, states that the investments prove that internet players are now major contributors to the fabric of the internet. This includes data centers, subsea cables and servers to store, process and serve content.
Over a third of the annual value of these investments – some $10 billion per year – is spent on European networks and facilities.
Analysys Mason attributes this finding to Europe's role as a hub for internet traffic – many internet cables meet in the region and it hosts the world's largest IXPs.
“Internet players are already putting big money on the table - and into the ground and under the sea. They are getting into increasingly large partnerships with investors and telecom operators,” report co-authors David Abecassis and Andrew Kloeden said.
“That comes in addition to investment in their core business of content and software.”