Broadband network solutions firm Sandvine released its 2013 internet traffic trends reports, based on data from more than 250 service providers from around the globe. According to the company's data, YouTube and Netflix still remain favorites among internet users, while peer-to-peer file sharing sees a significant drop off.
Together, Netflix and YouTube account for more than 50% of downstream traffic on fixed networks. Netflix maintains its dominance making up for 31.6% of said traffic, with Youtube trailing in second place at 18.6%.
Peer-to-peer file sharing continues its decline in popularity, according to the report. P2P sharing made up for 60% of traffic share in North America 11 years ago and over 31% 5 years ago, a number that has now reduced drastically to below 10%.
"Since 2009 on-demand entertainment has consumed more bandwidth than "experience later" applications like peer-to-peer filesharing and we had projected it would inevitably dip below 10% of total traffic by 2015. It's happened much faster," said Sandvine CEO, Dave Caputo. He attributes the drop in P2P interest largely to the rise of services like the aforementioned YouTube and Netflix.
Other notable facts that came out of Sandvine's Global Internet Phenomena Report 2H2013 include the rise of Dropbox and Instagram as well as Netflix's move into the EU, specifically the British Isles. The company is responsible for a 20% traffic share in just two years since launch, a feat that took Netflix nearly 4 years to achieve stateside.