The figures were released in Internet service tracker Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena report.
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Accordng to the research, policy, and consulting firm’s report, the advent of streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime (as well as the origina, YouTube), have contributed to doubling the rate of Internet usage exclusively dedicated to streaming within the last five years, from 35 percent in 2010. Here’s the latest breakdown from broadband services company Sandvine of “fixed access” – for the purposes of this piece, read it as “home broadband” – Internet usage during peak evening hours. The latest real-time totals dwarfed Web browsing (7 per cent), “Marketplaces” such as Android Marketplace and Apple iTunes (6.79 per cent); social networking (5.15 per cent); and gaming (4.01 per cent). And leading the pack is Netflix, which “now has a greater share of traffic than all of streaming audio and video did five years ago”, says Sandvine CEO Dave Caputo.
Netflix is a big reason for the increase. In the Middle East, investments in broadband infrastructure have yet streaming services enjoy a level of popularity similar to what they experience in the U.S. YouTube is the most popular application with an nearly 20% share of traffic, followed by general web applications, Facebook at 11.2% and Instagram at 10.6%. Sandvine also looked at Internet usage in other regions. In other words, a drop in the percentage does not mean a drop in volume or usage of the technology, but rather a drop in bandwidth share. “And it’s a good thing, it means everything is working the way we intended and the Internet is more efficient and sustainable”. In Africa, WhatsApp is the most popular individual service, accounting for almost 11% of total traffic.
A number of services and sites have been responsible for a majority of the growth, none more so than Netflix.
Social networks still take a sizeable share, even though they typically generate far less traffic than streaming services.
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While the two tables show just how differently services are used on fixed connections versus mobile networks, there is one clear trend: Media consumption is the clear victor.
