Netflix and YouTube account for half of US internet traffic

Netflix and YouTube now account for more than 50% of downstream traffic on fixed networks in North America, according to a new research by broadband network solutions firm Sandvine.

The Global Internet Phenomena Report 2H2013 claims that Netflix now accounts for 31.6% of downstream traffic in North America, with YouTube accounting for 18.6%.

In the UK, Netflix is responsible for more than 20% of traffic – less than two years on from the VOD service’s launch there. By comparison, in the US, it took the firm almost four years to achieve the same traffic, the study found.

The report also said that peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing had fallen below 10% of total traffic in North America “for the first time ever.”

“Since 2009 on-demand entertainment has consumed more bandwidth than ‘experience later’ applications like peer-to-peer file sharing and we had projected it would inevitably dip below 10% of total traffic by 2015. It’s happened much faster,” said Sandvine CEO Dave Caputo.

Five years ago, P2P file sharing accounted for more than 31% of web traffic in North America. Eleven years ago it was 60%, according to Sandvine’s stats.

Meanwhile, the report also tipped video traffic on mobile networks in Africa to grow “faster than in any other region before it,” despite only currently accounting for less than 6% of traffic.

“The African market is especially unique, as most users are connecting to the internet for the first time through mobile devices,” said Caputo. “In other parts of the world, new users have first connected to the internet via a fixed line. While video is a small part of mobile bandwidth in the region today, we predict Africa will be the fastest video adopter and operators will respond with creative device-and application-based service tiers.”