mobileu.co.uk

YouTube and Skype drive mobile internet traffic growth

Skype, YouTube and Facebook are driving "continued momentum in mobile broadband growth", according to research.

Allot Communications analysed mobile traffic during the second half of 2009 and found that YouTube accounted for a tenth of all data consumed on the move.

Its Global Mobile Broadband Traffic Report indicates that worldwide mobile data bandwidth usage increased by around 72 per cent in the six-month period.

"HTTP streaming continues to be the fastest-growing application with a 99 per cent increase," it notes, adding: "Facebook experienced tremendous growth of 180 per cent."

Skype is described as "the undisputed VoIP traffic market leader", accounting for 77 per cent of global VoIP bandwidth, while P2P is deemed the single largest factor leading to cell congestion, accounting for 34 per cent of bandwidth use in the top five per cent of cells.

Allot's Rami Hadar comments that the report is "a valuable tool" for mobile network operators who need insight into subscriber behaviour across applications and regions: "It highlights how mobile data services are evolving and the extent of their influence over the subscriber which, in turn, helps the operator understand the significance of adapting their networks for the continued demand for optimised bandwidth."