It seems that it is all a matter of taste when it comes to what P2P programs people use. Recent statistics couldn’t have proved it further.
Note: This is an article I wrote that was published elsewhere first. It has been republished here for archival purposes
Equipment maker “Sandvine” has verified an earlier claim by Cache Logic reported by Slyck that eDonkey is the most popular network in France and Germany. Meanwhile, BitTorrent remains a home favorite in the UK and North America.
One thing remains constant in statistical analysis however, P2P (peer-to-peer) networks just are not going to go away with the new Australian ruling on Kazaa. In Europe, for broadband users, upstream traffic represents up to 85% of all bandwidth consumed. As for downstream, the figure is about 60% of total consumed. Meanwhile, in the UK and North America, 76% upstream and 48% downstream is consumed by p2p networks in total.
“P2P file sharing is here to stay,” confirms managing director of EMEA marketing and sales Chris Colman. “P2P file sharing is a valuable subscriber application. Broadband service providers need to have visibility into these popular subscriber applications so they can reduce congestion in the network and ensure their subscribers’ quality of experience.”
So who is the leader in p2p bandwidth? Currently, it is the French transferring an astounding 90% on upload and 85% download on average per day. All the while in Germany, the charts showed 83% upstream and 65% downstream.
eDonkey is the most popular application in France and Germany grabbing 50% of all P2P traffic while BitTorrent sits at 26%. The other networks (which include FastTrack, WinMX, and Direct Connect) soak up less then 10% of the remaining slice of the pie.
eDonkey handles about 72% of all file-sharing traffic in Germany with competing BitTorrent sitting at 16%. In France, EDonkey swallows 80% of all French P2P traffic, leaving BitTorrent behind with FastTrack and Gnutella.
Chris Colman adds, “After the legal claims from the film industry earlier in the year, there was a slight mass market blip in BitTorrent usage, but it’s on the rise again as more sites have emerged. We are also seeing an increase in legitimate file sharing with open source software distribution and paid download sites.”
BitTorrent continues to lead the way in the UK and North America with 36% and 48% respectively. These two regions see a more diversified mix of P2P protocols including eDonkey, FastTrack, WinMX, Direct Connect, and Ares.
Broadcast access technologist of Yankee Group Lindsay Schroth said, “Broadband service providers need to understand their subscribers’ usage behavior to relieve congestion in the network, and meet the needs of their subscribers while enhancing their quality of experience.”
The study, which was conducted by Sandvine, gathered data across a select sample of broadband service provider networks and used a 20 million user sample worldwide.
Sandvine intelligent broadband network solutions gives service providers tools to identify threats and emerging applications, reduce network congestion, protect subscribers, their applications, and enhance subscriber quality of experience.
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
