The latest global MobileTrends Report (H1 2011) from Allot Communications, which covers the first half (6 months) of this year, has reported a 77% growth in internet data traffic over Mobile Broadband networks. Most interesting of all is the fact that video streaming services now make for the largest single source (39%) of all bandwidth consumption, with YouTube alone accounting for 22% of the total.

The fastest growing application types were VoIP (Skype continues as the undisputed VoIP market leader with 82% of mobile VoIP bandwidth) and Instant Messaging (IM), which grew by 101% over the first half period but still only had a "limited impact on the total bandwidth" figures.


It's interesting to note that the UK situation appears to be diverging slightly from Hadar's above remarks, with both T-Mobile and Three (3) recently returning to the more controversial but highly popular "unlimited" model of Smartphone based Mobile Broadband data bundles.

As for web (website) traffic, both Facebook and Twitter grew by 166% and 297%, respectively. The Allot MobileTrends Report data was collected from January 1st to June 30th 2011 via leading mobile operators worldwide with a combined user base of 250 million subscribers.