Mobile usage is growing at a phenomenal rate and it doing so has forced many businesses to change the way they think about everything from advertising to site design, content and SEO.
According to a new report, mobile data consumption grew by 77% in the first half of this year, meaning mobile optimisation is more important than ever.
The MobileTrends report – released today by Allot Communications – demonstrates some of the key areas where mobile data bandwidth growth is most prominent.
Here’s an overview of that data:
Video
Video streaming has shown significant growth with a 93% increase overall. This increase makes mobile video streaming the biggest application in regards to data usage, with a 39% share.
Not too surprisingly, the majority of all video streaming is courtesy of YouTube, with the video giant accounting for 52% of that total.
Not only does YouTube account over half of all video streaming, it’s responsible for 22% of all mobile bandwidth usage, making it the most popular mobile destination by some distance.
VoIP & IM vs. SMS & MMS
The report shows that VoIP (voice over IP) and IM (instant messaging) have together grown to establish themselves as the fastest growing mobile application type with an increase of 101%. This may sound like huge growth but they still represent very little impact on overall total bandwidth usage.
Skype still dominates the VoIP market and accounts for 82% of all mobile VoIP bandwidth, but with a number of new competitors on the scene it’s share of the market space may not remain this high forever.
In tune with this information, the revenue generated by SMS and MMS has dropped considerably. Mobile social media applications have no doubt contributed heavily to the demise of the text and picture message.
Apps
The downloading of mobile applications contributes a considerable percentage of the total bandwidth usage.
The report reveals that when it comes to mobile download activity, Apple is way out in front. Apple’s mobile app store currently accounts for 84% of all app store download traffic, while the Android market makes up only 13%.
Social
Always at the forefront of any mobile discussion, social has also made considerable gains in bandwidth usage with Facebook and Twitter growing by 166% and 297%, respectively.
The MobileTrends report is based on statistics generated from 250 million mobile subscribers and over 50 worldwide mobile operators. To read the report in full, visit www.allot.com.
