Sandvine (2018)
Contents
Source Details
Sandvine (2018) | |
Title: | The Global Internet Phenomena Report, October 2018 |
Author(s): | Sandvine |
Year: | 2018 |
Citation: | Sandvine (2018) The Global Internet Phenomena Report, October 2018. Available via: https://www.sandvine.com/press-releases/sandvine-releases-2018-global-internet-phenomena-report (last accessed 11 October 2018) |
Link(s): | Open Access |
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About the Data | |
Data Description: | The study draws on data from installed bases (both fixed and mobile) to measure internet traffic. Analysis of this data can determine e.g. consumed bandwidth, downstream consumption (e.g. downloads, streams), and upstream activities (e.g. uploading, interactive activities). |
Data Type: | Primary data |
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Cross Country Study?: | Yes |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | No |
Government or policy study?: | No |
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Abstract
“The Global Internet Phenomena Report is the authoritative view on how applications are consuming the world’s internet bandwidth. With an installed base of over 2.1B subscribers worldwide across over 150 Tier 1 and Tier 2 fixed, mobile, WiFi, and satellite operators, Sandvine’s visibility into internet trends is unparalleled in the industry. This edition of the report reports on total volume of traffic for over 5300 distinct application signatures that are part of the Sandvine solutions, and highlights the trends that are driving bandwidth consumption worldwide.”
Main Results of the Study
Despite years of decline in online piracy, BitTorrent usage is increasing. File-sharing accounts for 3% of global downstream traffic, and 22% of upstream traffic (97% of which is BitTorrent). The situation is most prevalent in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with almost 32% of all upstream network traffic being ascribed to BitTorrent. The report also notes that these figures were measured “outside of a Game of Thrones season” (notable for causing surges in piracy rates) and therefore these figures are potentially depressed.
In recent years there has also been a notable increase in the number of video streaming services; previously, platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, and Facebook dominated the video streaming landscape (compared to new competitors such as Amazon Prime, Playstation Network etc.). The report suggests that these two issues are interconnected, as the rise of Netflix-style competitors also increases the amount of exclusive content (e.g. Game of Thrones on HBO, House of Cards on Netflix, The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu etc.), which must be purchased per-platform (thereby increasing costs and accessibility issues for users).
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
Whilst the report does not make any explicit policy recommendations, it does suggest that multiple exclusive-content platforms is correlated with increases in piracy behaviour.