A method and system are provided for modeling network traffic in which an artificial neural network architecture is utilized in order to intelligently and adaptively model the capacity of a network. Initially, the network traffic is decomposed into a plurality of categories, such as individual users, application usage or common usage groups. Inputs to the artificial neural network are then defined such that a respective combination of inputs permits prediction of bandwidth capacity needs for that input condition. Outputs of the artificial neural network are representative of the network traffic associated with the respective inputs. For example, a plurality of bandwidth profiles associated with respective categories may be defined. An artificial neural network may then be constructed and trained with those bandwidth profiles and then utilized to relate predict future bandwidth needs for the network.