Study: Mobile data bandwidth usage up 68% in first half of 2010

Mobile data bandwidth usage increased 68 percent during the first half of 2010, galvanized by services like video streaming and social networking, according to new data released by service optimization and revenue generation solutions provider Allot Communications. Video streaming applications consume the most bandwidth worldwide at 35 percent, up 92 percent over the first six months of 2010--Allot credits the growth to the surging popularity of Google-owned video aggregator YouTube, which alone accounts for 13 percent of mobile data bandwidth.  

Social networking demand also factors significantly into mobile data bandwidth usage--Allot reports that Twitter bandwidth grew 310 percent during the first half of the year, while Facebook increased 200 percent. P2P and HTTP downloads together represent 31 percent of mobile bandwidth, accounting for an aggregate growth rate of 80 percent--VoIP and IM grew 84 percent during H1 2010, with Skype representing 83 percent of mobile VoIP bandwidth.

For more on the Allot Communications study:
- read this release

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