Four Adult Sites Generate 15 Percent of Wireless Video Traffic

MOBILE CYBERSPACE—Bytemobile, an international mobile internet strategies and solution company, has released research for the month of July that shows a marked increase in mobile video consumption, especially during the evening. The research also shows that four of the top 10 mobile video domains are adult-related, and account for 15 percent of the total video traffic on wireless networks.

YouTube continues to be the dominant source for mobile video consumption, accounting for 36 percent of total traffic on wireless networks, with Googlevideo.com coming in second at about 7 percent, with Xvideos.com at about 6 percent and YouPorn.com at a tad under 5 percent. Rounding out the top 10 are Megavideo.com, Myvideo.de, Archiv.to, Pornhub.com, Phobos.apple.com and Tnaflix.com.

Interestingly, considering Apple’s recent denunciation of the format, Adobe Flash accounts for 90 percent of all wireless video traffic, by far the most popular video format. However, the research also found that Apple’s CODEC, H.264 accounts for nearly 50 percent of all mobile internet videos, and is often used with Adobe Flash.

In terms of the video watching experience, research results are mixed. Not surprisingly, video usage is the single largest factor in reduced bandwidth availability and network congestion, with most of the consumption peaking around 10 p.m. across all time zones, which is when most networks report the greatest congestion. To combat the congestion, the researchers found that mobile users opt for lower-quality videos to avoid stalling, which occurs on even the fastest networks. The low tide for mobile video consumption occurs at 5:30 a.m., when, as a result, bandwidth is most available.  

The study also found that high-definition video is nearly non-existent on wireless networks, and that video optimization significantly improves the user experience by reducing stalling. On average, it found, 60 seconds of video watched on a 3G network averages 10 seconds of stalling; if optimized, however, the stalling is reduced to zero. Around 95 percent of mobile video viewers watch at resolutions between 176×144 and 640×480.

The research can be read here.

For more information, visit www.bytemobile.com.