Sandvine: Netflix bandwidth consumption jumps 10% since May

The amount of video bandwidth consumed by Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) subscribers streaming TV shows and movies has increased by 10 percent since May, according to a report from Sandvine. Netflix accounts for 32.7 percent of peak downstream traffic to cable operators, telcos, and other broadband providers that sell Internet access through fixed networks.

Click here for an expanded infographic of online video consumption

While Netflix is being pummeled on Wall Street for losing subscribers, the Sandvine data shows that its streaming video service remains more popular than Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) Fancast Xfinity TV and other TV Everywhere online video sites that are competing with Netflix.

With Netflix consuming more bandwidth than any other online video provider, the Sandvine report could also be used by Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and other companies fighting the FCC's network neutrality rules. They could argue that Netflix should be forced to pay Verizon, Comcast and other high-speed data providers fees to help cover the costs of delivering its subscription-based service through the high-speed networks that they have spent billions of dollars to build.

Also worth noting from Sandvine's Global Internet Phenomena Report:

• Mean usage on fixed networks remained relatively flat at the high end, at 22.7 GB, down from 23.GB that it reported in May, while media usage dropped to 5.8 GB from 7.0 GB. "This shows that while subscribers aren't using more traffic overall the usage gap between heavy and light users is broadening and that more data is being used during the small peak period window," Sandvine said.
• Real-time entertainment applications account for 60 percent of peak downstream traffic, up from 50 percent in 2010.
• Video distribution on mobile networks is gaining steam, with entertainment content representing 32.6 percent of peak downstream traffic in North America.

For more:
- see Sandvine release

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