On-demand traffic now dominates global Internet bandwidth load, according to Sandvine (News - Alert). Almost two-thirds of all Internet traffic is consumed as it arrives, pointing to the growing importance real-time applications now are assuming.

 

Real-time entertainment, for example, has almost doubled its share of total Internet traffic from 2008 to 2009, while gaming has increased its share by more than 50 percent.

 

Real-time entertainment traffic, such as streaming audio and video, peer-casting, place-shifting and Flash video, now accounts for 26.6 percent of total traffic in 2009, up from 12.6 percent in 2008, according to a new analysis by Sandvine.

 

This jump represents a doubling in the share of total bytes attributable to real-time entertainment applications and highlights the shifting nature of Internet traffic. Report findings include a dramatic shift in consumer behavior towards real-time “experience now” applications and away from bulk download “experience later” behavior.

 

The research also shows that over an average month the top one percent of subscribers account for 25 percent of total Internet traffic.

 

Hours of near-peak usage also have concentrated. Where near-peak usage ran from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. in 2008, the near-peak hours now last from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in 2009.

 

There is a huge variation in downstream traffic over the course of an average day, from a minimum at 5 a.m. - about 30 percent of peak - to the peak itself which is reached at 8 p.m.

 

Upstream traffic reaches a minimum at 4 a.m. - about 35 percent of peak - and also peaks at 8 p.m.

 

The number of subscribers on the network also exhibits a similar curve, reaching a minimum of about 50 percent of peak at 4 a.m. before embarking on a fairly steady rise to the 8 p.m. peak. Traffic during these hours is driven more by an increase in per-subscriber bandwidth consumption than by the absolute number of subscribers using the network, Sandvine said.

 

The peak-time bump in traffic is almost completely attributable to the surging evening popularity of real-time entertainment and Web browsing. Consumption of real-time entertainment grows 35 percent during peak hours while Web browsing increases 26 percent, and the increases are driven more by intensified use than by more users coming online, Sandvine said.

 

On a per-subscriber basis, North Americans consume the most YouTube (News - Alert) videos, followed closely by subscribers in the Middle East and Africa. But Europe is the destination for more YouTube minutes than any other region.

 

Traffic to and from gaming consoles increased by more than 50 percent per subscriber, demonstrating not only the popularity of online gaming, but also the growing use of game consoles as sources of “traditional” entertainment such as movies and TV shows, Sandvine said.

 

The growth of real-time entertainment consumption also is leading to a decline of peer to peer traffic. At a global level, P2P file-sharing declined by 25 percent as a share of total traffic, to account for just over 20 percent of total bytes.

 

The study analyzed data from more than 20 cable modem and digital subscriber line broadband service providers’ networks totaling 24 million subscribers. The networks were distributed across five regions: North America, Europe, Caribbean and Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa. Data was gathered between Sept. 1 to 22.