Ericsson - Observations on Mobile-connected PCs by Application

In its The State of the Internet Report (Q1, 2012) Akamai published some "observations from Akamai partner Ericsson regarding traffic variations on mobile-connected PCs by application and data plan".

The figure below shows the "..variation of a subscriber’s average monthly traffic volume for different applications for mobile PC devices. It is measured at two different occasions during 2011 in one selected network". 

"As an example, a user on a data plan of around 15 GB consumed on average 2-3 GB per month of HTTP video in Q1, while in Q4 this figure was 3-4 GB per month. In this study, the majority of users are on medium data plans between 2-5 GB/month. In Q4, higher data plans were available. The first observation one can make is that the monthly subscriber traffic from applications such as HTTP video and web browsing both reach saturation points, although at different levels. At the same time, P2P file sharing increases with the monthly data plan (at least for the range of currently available data plans)".

"The second observation one can make is that both web browsing and P2P file sharing usage remain fairly constant within the same data plan between Q1 and Q4, while HTTP video has increased dramatically. Web browsing has not increased because it is a low bandwidth application and there are limitations on the time an individual can spend browsing the web. There are several reasons to that HTTP video is increasing and has likely not yet reached its peak. One reason is that bit rates from video applications such as YouTube, Netflix and Hulu continue to increase as they gradually improve quality by offering content in increasingly higher resolution (e.g. “Full HD”). Another reason is increasing screen resolution, which means viewers tend to look at longer clips, or that they keep watching for a longer time. The increasing availability of quality content also has an impact"

See "State of the Internet" - here.