The number of Internet connected devices that people have is going up, especially in North America.

There will be four networked devices and connections per person globally by 2021, according to the latest annual visual networking index forecast by Cisco.

However, in North America, there will be 13 networked devices and connections per person, up from eight last year.

The means that beyond smartphones and connected TVs, North American consumers will be adopting many more connected gadgets.

North America is well above the average by region when it comes to getting connected. For example, here are the projected number of networked devices and connection per person by region by 2021:

• 13 – North America
• 9 – Western Europe
• 4 – Central and Eastern Europe
• 3 – Latin America
• 3 – Asia Pacific
• 1 – Middle East and Africa

The end result is that all those connected devices will be creating new and massive data streams, much of which will be used to mine for new consumer insights.

During the same timeframe as the mass connected device adoption, broadband speeds will nearly double. Some of those speeds are already being delivered in the U.S. today by Verizon.

The speed and additional connections don’t necessarily mean that consumers will do things faster.

However, it does mean that consumer access to information and content, especially streaming video, will be accessible more quickly via more devices.

Over time, consumers are likely to lean more on their smart devices to automate tasks for them.

Today, this can be as simple as asking Amazon’s Alexa to order a coffee from Starbucks.

Tomorrow, this could involve the connected technology, powered by artificial intelligence, to know, in advance, when to order that coffee. And from where. And have it delivered via any number of means now in trial.