WATERLOO – Netflix still dominates North American networks while Amazon Instant Video has established itself as the second largest paid streaming video service in North America, according to data from Sandvine.
In its latest bi-annual Internet traffic trends report, entitled Global Internet Phenomena Report 2H 2014, Sandvine found that Netflix now accounts for 34.9% of downstream traffic in the peak evening hours, and Amazon Instant Video has seen its share more than double in the past 18 months to 2.6% of downstream traffic. In addition, Facebook's introduction of video autoplay saw average subscriber usage increase by as much as 60% on mobile networks and over 200% on fixed networks in the past year.
Other highlights from the report include:
– in advance of plans to start offering a standalone streaming subscriptions in the U.S., HBO GO accounts for just 1% of downstream traffic in the region;
– on a fixed network in Australasia, where Netflix isn't even available yet, approximately 2.5% of subscribers are accessing the service and it comprises as much as 4% of peak downstream traffic;
– as a percentage of traffic, Filesharing traffic continues to decline globally in almost all regions except Asia-Pacific, where it still accounts for more than 33% of total traffic; and
– Apple's iOS 8 launch in September saw the software update account for over 12% of peak traffic on one Middle Eastern fixed access network.
The report is based on data from a selection of Sandvine's 250-plus communications service provider customers spanning North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Caribbean and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
