Netflix has the Internet going nuts. The video rental and streaming service accounts for nearly 30% of all U.S. Internet traffic, according to a new study conducted by analytics company Sandvine.
The "Global Internet Phenomena Report: Spring 2011" study released this week has Netflix's online videos as the biggest source of source of all American Internet traffic overall.
It really shouldn't come as a surprise, as Netflix is only following in its own brick-and-mortar footsteps. The company is the United States Postal Service's largest individual costumer with $600 million in annual postage fees. That's what happens you mail DVDs to 20 million customers at first-class postage rates.
The USPS has asked Netflix to cough up more dough to support its overzealous mailing need. In the same vein, Internet providers are beginning to implement plans that limit how much bandwidth customers can use each month. This month, AT&T began imposing 150 GB data caps for DSL subscribers, for example.
Elsewhere in the study, Sandvine reported that entertainment services like YouTube and Netflix took up nearly 50% of peak Internet traffic in 2010. And it expects that number to grow to 60% by the end of 2011.
[via The Washington Post]
