A new report from JDSU examines data use across more than 150 devices as well as generational technologies, and has found that “use of mobile data and consumer behavior is becoming more extreme.”
“For the past three years we’ve seen explosive growth in mobile data usage, causing operators to have to wrestle with the challenges their success is creating,” said Dr. Michael Flanagan, author of the study and CTO of mobility for JDSU’s network and service enablement business segment.
The study’s data came from JDSU’s Location Intelligence Business Unit, formerly Arieso. That research found that 4G users are 10 times more “data hungry” than 3G users, and just 0.1% of LTE users consumre more than half of all LTE downlink data measured.
In addition, specific devices are often associated with heavy data use. iPhone5S users are at the top of that list, using seven times as much data as benchmark iPhone 3G users in developed markets, and 20 times as much data as iPhone 3G users in developing markets. Apple users consumed the most mobile data in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions of the report as well, JDSU noted. Last year, Galaxy S III users narrowed the gap, “but iPhone 5s usage is the most intense witnessed to date, keeping Apple users at the top of the chart,” the company reported.
Apple products accounted for six of the top 10 “hungriest handsets,” along with two from Samsung, one HTC and one Sony.
However, Samsung users topped the chart on uplink data: Galaxy S4 users produced and uploaded five times as much data as iPhone 3G users in developed markets, and 11 times as much data in developing markets.
“Each new generation of iPhone has resulted in increases in data consumption of between 20-40 percent – even today when data use is common. Though interestingly, users of the more economically-priced iPhone 5c consume data in the range between that of the iPhone 4s and 5 users,” said Flanagan.
In the past two years, the study has also tracked the impact of data hogs on mobile networks. The 2011 data found that 1 percent of 3G users consumed half of the entire downlink data, while 2012 figures showed that one percent of 3G users still consumed about half of the data. The biggest data hogs were moving to LTE, as shown in this year’s numbers: 0.1% of 4G users accounted for more than half of LTE downlink data, making them 10 times more data-hungry than 3G users.
“The faster the speeds that mobile operators provide, the more consumers swallow it up and demand more,” said Flanagan. “One would expect a honeymoon period in which early adopters test their toys. But for 4G users to consistently exhibit behavior 10 times more extreme than 3G users well after launch constitutes a seismic shift in the data landscape. This has important ramifications for future network designs.”
JDSU also looks at trends in tablet data consumption. Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 users topped that list last year, only to be edged out this year by the fourth generation iPad. Interestingly, though, users of the new iPad mini consume 20% less data than those using second- and third-generation iPads.
“Last year, we were surprised to see that smartphones trumped tablets when it came to data consumption. Lost ground has not been made up by tablets, in spite of the progress of the fourth generation iPad. Only two of our top ten most hungry devices were tablets this year, compared to three last year,” commented Flanagan.
The study seems to indicate that the capacity pain point for operators is not going to be resolved any time soon — but, Flanagan noted, it is likely to serve as a driver for more targeted capacity improvements, such as those offered by small cells and Wi-Fi.
“This report provides new insight on how operators can deal with skyrocketing data use. For example, the fact that 0.1 percent of 4G subscribers consume half of the data may prompt operators to identify extreme users,” said Flanagan. “This, in turn, may make it easier to deploy small cell and Wi-Fi access points to ease network congestion. However, the accuracy of these placements should be of paramount importance to operators due to the limited range of the small cells and Wi-Fi.”
He went on to add that “this is likely part of an overall trend towards the ‘personal’ wireless network. Just as femtocells were placed in homes to satisfy network coverage objectives on a subscriber-by-subscriber basis, small cells and Wi-Fi access points may be placed to satisfy network capacity objectives on a subscriber-by-subscriber basis.”
