The
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) released
information on the telecommunications sector from the 2014 Communications Monitoring Report on 25 Sep 2014.
This
is an annual report covering multiple aspects of the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications sectors. The
report is filled with data and statistic that only a nerd could love. Nevertheless
it does contain some gems of wisdom which may be of use and interest to readers
of this blog.
One striking
statistic is the huge increase in the average GB downloaded and uploaded
per residential Internet subscriber between 2012 and 2013. Only a few years ago
the total were in the range of 12.3 GB (2008) and 14.8 GB (2010). These are the
latest figures:
2012
|
2013
|
Annual Growth (%)
|
|
Average GB
Download
|
28.4
|
44.8
|
57.7
|
Average GB
Upload
|
5.4
|
6.0
|
11.0
|
Average
Total GB Per Month
|
33.8
|
50.8
|
(Source: CRTC 2014 Communications
Monitoring Report - Table 5.3.0)
One can only expect this trend to continue as the use of
video and audio streaming to deliver Internet content continues to expand.
Another source of data increase are constant software updates that may require repeated
downloading of the same material for each appliance attached through the same
modem or hub. For example if you have four computers in a residence, which is not
uncommon, the infamous Microsoft Tuesday updates are downloaded four times and
each download counts against your data cap.
The report contains figures that some users may find useful. They show how long it takes in hours for a specific application to use up a monthly data cap.
For example, a wireline connection watching Netflix at a "low"setting can use up a 100GB cap in 263 hours. Increase the Netflix setting to "Super HD" and the 100GB cap is reached in 91 hours.
For mobile broadband (data hub or smartphone) connections which usually have a lower cap and slower speed than a wireline connection the figures differ. For Netflix in "Auto" mode a 5GB cap is reached in 14 hours while You Tube in "HD-720p" mode a 5GB cap is reached in 4.2 hours. (Note: these are only examples and actual usage rates may vary but not substantially.)
The original version of these figures can be found in the CRTC Monitoring Report, pages 189 and 190. The report is in .pdf format so the figures can be enlarged. (The figures below can be enlarged by using Ctrl-Plus sign and returned to the previous size by using Ctrl-Minus Sign.)
Number of usage hours before typical wireline broadband capacity thresholds are reached, by service
(Source: CRTC 2014 Communications Monitoring Report - Table 5.3.11)
Number of usage hours before typical mobile broadband capacity thresholds are reached, by service
(Source: CRTC 2014 Communications Monitoring Report - Table 5.3.12)
