Network equipment and software company Sandvine has published its half-yearly report into internet traffic trends. The results suggest that mobile broadband services are becoming 'mainstream', with customers now tending to use the same services on the move as they do at home or in the office.
'Mobile Internet Phenomena' is the company's seventh report on broadband phenomena and internet traffic analysis. It reveals that mobile users are running similar applications as on fixed networks, including real-time instant messaging and VoIP communications.
Dave Caputo, Sandvine's president and CEO, said "With the emergence of more powerful mobile devices, like the iPad, and the ready availability of laptop dongles, more and more users on the go will be foregoing traditional voice in favor of data-centric, bandwidth-intensive applications. Mobile data has definitely become a mainstream phenomenon as subscribers are increasingly relying on their mobile connection to do the things their home PC can."
The Mobile Internet Phenomena report also notes that the top 5% of subscribers worldwide account for 50% of network traffic. Social networking is responsible for up to 9% of average mobile data usage, while YouTube accounts for 10% to 15% of mobile data usage.