Netflix nearly 30% of North American peak data traffic
updated 06:30 pm EDT, Tue May 17, 2011
Netflix "largest source of Internet traffic"
Netflix' video-streaming services reportedly represent nearly 30 percent of peak data traffic across North American, according to usage data collected by the networking equipment company Sandvine. The numbers also appear to show that Netflix has continue to grow in popularity, making it the largest single source of Internet traffic overall.
Content streamed from Netflix is included in the "real-time entertainment" category that accounts for nearly half of peak aggregate traffic, a 60 percent increase from Sandvine's observations dating back to 2009.
An NPD report released early this spring suggests Netflix is dominating the video-on-demand segment, overshadowing competitors such as iTunes, DirecTV and Time Warner Cable. The report also suggests nearly a quarter of home video is now viewed via broadband connections.
Sandvine expects the real-time entertainment category to represent 55-60 percent of all Internet traffic by the end of 2011.
