Sandvine Report Sees Rise in OTT, Mobile Markets, Web Devices
Broadband networks solutions provider Sandvine has released its fall 2011 Internet Phenomena Report, offering details and analysis on the increased use of Netflix and other over-the-top streaming services, the market penetration of revenue-replacement applications, the increase in mobile marketplaces, and a growing impact from connected consumer electronic devices.
The report finds that in U.S. fixed networks, real-time entertainment applications are putting heavy demands on network capacity. They account for 60 percent of peak downstream traffic, up from 50 percent a year ago. The majority of that is adaptive bitrate video. Netflix made up 32.7 percent of peak downstream traffic, a 10 percent increase since the spring.
As far as entertainment goes, the report says, we're in the post-PC era. The majority of real-time entertainment traffic (55 percent) is going to game consoles, set-top boxes, connected TVs, and mobile devices. Only 45 percent streams to desktop and notebook computers.
The report also quantifies the rise in mobile video. In North America, 32.6 percent of peak downstream traffic on mobile networks is for real-time entertainment. Here the largest source is YouTube, although Netflix is growing.
"The fact that more video traffic is going to devices other than a PC should be a wake-up call that counting bytes is no longer sufficient for network planning. Communications service providers need to have detailed business intelligence on not only the devices being used but also the quality and length of the videos being watched so they can engineer for a high subscriber quality of experience and not simply adding capacity through continuous capital investment," says Dave Caputo, CEO of Sandvine.
Those interested can download the full report for free. Registration is required.
Related Articles
A report from Sandvine shows that Netflix alone now makes up a greater share of traffic than all audio and video did five years ago.
07 Dec 2015
With so many set-top boxes, game consoles, Blu-ray players, and more vying for attention, not every platform is going to attract a following. Learn which are coming out on top.
07 Jun 2011
A Streaming Media East panel looks at cord-cutting, and whether or not online video will take the place of cable
23 May 2011
Living room streaming video services are requiring pay-TV services to ramp up to keep up with demand. What new delivery methods will win out?
18 May 2011