Sandvine, a leading provider of intelligent broadband network
solutions for fixed and mobile operators, today released its
Internet traffic trends report, entitled "Global
Internet Phenomena Report 1H2012 ", based on data from a
selection of Sandvine's 200-plus customers spanning North America,
Europe, Middle East and Africa, Caribbean and Latin America and
Asia-Pacific.
"Aggregate reports like our Global Internet Phenomena shed light
on the Internet as a whole and inform operators on trends relevant
to their business," said Sandvine rep, Dave Caputo. "However,
the real value for our customers is to take an internal census of
data and trends on their own networks. Armed with detailed
network data we work with our customers to develop tailored service
offerings, traffic policies and usage plans."
Sandvine's report reveals the facts, fads and future trends of
today's mobile networks:
- YouTube is the
largest source of mobile video traffic in every region examined,
accounting for as much as 25% of network data and no less than
12%
- In North America, video and audio streaming make up more than
half of mobile data traffic, led by YouTube, Pandora and Netflix
- Instant messaging applications like WhatsApp continue to enjoy
widespread adoption while eating into SMS revenue; for example, on
an Asian mobile network serving one million subscribers, an average
of 7.6 million WhatsApp messages were sent per day
- Mobile device usage on fixed networks: Home roaming accounts
for 9% of total fixed traffic on North America's household
networks
- Audio and video streaming will exceed 60% of North America's
mobile data by late 2014
- Click-to-cloud smartphone photo back-up and synchronization
will emerge as a significant source of traffic worldwide: the
phenomena of the continuous cloud/client connection
"Region by region, network by network and device by device, the
need for video quality metrics is consistent across the board,"
said Caputo. "As mobile broadband adoption grows and the latest
tablets and devices enable more applications, operators worldwide
are adding an intelligence layer across their networks. This
intelligence extends beyond byte-counting and delivers metrics that
matter, such event-based, time-based and quality-based measurements
and forecasts."