A report by Allot MobileTrends shows a 68% growth in global mobile data bandwidth usage in first half (H1), 2010, with Twitter bandwidth jumping by 310%, Facebook by 200%, and YouTube by 123%.
Allot Communications’s latest MobileTrends Report shows a significant growth for mobile data bandwidth in H1 of 2010. With video streaming applications continuing to dominate the global mobile bandwidth scene and remaining the largest consumer of bandwidth with a 35% share. In addition, video streaming is the single largest growing application type with a 92% increase, due in part to the ever-rising popularity of YouTube. The report also highlights how the demand for social networking applications increased exponentially over H1, 2010 as Twitter grew its bandwidth by 310% and Facebook increased its dominance with a 200% rise.
Additionally VoIP and IM applications grew significantly during this period becoming the second fastest growing traffic-type, demonstrating that they have become popular, cost-effective alternatives to traditional voice and messaging services.
“The results of our latest MobileTrends Report reinforces that mobile broadband operators continue to face growing challenges as subscribers demand real-time content through an array of smartphones and Internet devices,” said Rami Hadar, President and CEO of Allot Communications. “The findings also clearly demonstrate the close ties between mobile broadband and social networking. Whether it’s YouTube, Twitter or Facebook, social networking via mobile devices is becoming a ‘must have’ for subscribers and we expect that this is just the beginning.”
Findings from the Allot MobileTrends Report also include:
- Video streaming continues to be the favourite for watching video; YouTube remains one of the single most popular destinations accounting for 13% of mobile data bandwidth.
- P2P and HTTP downloads together represent a significant 31% of mobile bandwidth, with an aggregate growth rate of 80%.
- VoIP and IM grew by 84%. Skype remains the undisputed VoIP market leader, accounting for 83% of mobile VoIP bandwidth.
The Allot MobileTrends Report data was collected from January 1 to June 30, 2010 from leading mobile operators worldwide with a combined user base of 190 million subscribers.