Social Machinery

Broadband heavy users segment (the 1% of subscribers that consume 25% of all broadband traffic) move on internet 200 times more bytes than a normal subscriber. That’s one of the main conclusions coming from the latest  “2009 Global Broadband Phenomena” by Sandvine. The company Cable and DSL networks from 24 millions users around the world.

So, what makes a heavy user utilize 200 times more internet than normal users?

Heavy user’s P2P traffic is two times more than normal users and comparatively, traffic related to streaming sites like Youtube is lower (5.8%). In the other hand, a normal user spends most of their time browsing and on real time entertainment sites. 

The study also shows how Internet user behaviors are changing. Comparatively, P2P traffic has decreased in 26% from last year. Also, web browsing traffic has decreased 14%, Email has decreased 46% and real time communication traffic decreased in 52%.

The driver then for internet traffic is video/audio streaming and online gaming. Those type of traffics shows a 96% increase compared to 2008. Besides, file sharing and cloud storage sites like MegaUpload and Rapidshare, shows a relevant increase on traffic (54%) compared to last year.

According to Sandvine, we are in the midst of a massive Internet user behavior shift, moving from the current “ download now, use it afterwards” to “ one-demand” consumption.