america, show me your broadband usage — tech news and analysis

8/11/2019 America, Show Me Your Broadband Usage Tech News and Analysis

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TAGS: broadband comcast netflix

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[https://reader010.{domain}/reader010/html5/0611/5b1e48f088No caps and no meters for

Sonic.Net

write about the Internet. I spend roughly 10 hours a day (or more) on the web. I stream movies, mu

and use IP communications to talk to sources, friends and family. In short, I demand a lot from my

broadband connection. But still, I was surprised to see I use 125 gigabytes of data a month, accordi

to Time Warner Cable, my ISP. And that got me wondering: How much do my parents use? My

friends? The little old lady down the street?

For better or worse,over half of those who subscribe to broadband in the U.S. are under some formof bandwidth cap, which means that many have a meter and can now track how much data they use

So I asked people to send me their usage as well as answer a few questions. This is not any kind of

scientifically valid sample and I know those who shared their data are more technically savvy that

others, but I invite our readers to send in their data to help me get a better picture.

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America, show me your broadband usage

by Stacey Higginbotham

JUL. 19, 2012 - 11 :49 AM PDT

S U M M A R Y : I demand a lot from my broadband connection. But I was surprised to see my family

uses 125 gigabytes of data a month. And that got me wondering. How much do my parents use? M

friends? The little old lady down the street?

SIGN UP
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think that once people realize that between the little, old lady who uses her broadband connection

to check email and someone illegally uploading every episode of Game of Thrones there are a bun

of families and households in the middle, that broader picture of broadband usage in this country ca

help us debate the caps, mergers and whatever other policy issues that come into play with everyo

n mind. So, meet five bandwidth users from around the country.

Cord cutters with a kid

[https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/staceyusage2.jpg]

Location: Austin, Texas:

ISP: Time Warner Cable

Household: Two adults in their mid-30s and a 5-year-old

Connected gadgets: 3 computers, 2 iPads, 2 smartphones, 3 set top boxes, one Wii and a Sonos

music system
https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/staceyusage2.jpg


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Pay TV subscriber: No

Gamers: casual

Notes: Yes, this is me

All the single ladies

[https://reader010.{domain}/reader010/html5/0611/5b1e48f088aae/5b1e48f5c09b1.jpg]

Location: Atlanta

ISP: Sprint mobile broadband

Household: One adult

Connected devices: 1 smartphone, 2 laptops

Pay TV subscriber: No

Gamers: No

Notes: I have not had a landline or cable/satellite since 2001 and have no plans to go back. In a

typical month I use 3.5 GB, but I hit my peak consumption in February when I was obsessively

watching Downtown Abbey online to catch up on seasons 1 and 2. I pay for unlimited mobile

broadband (which is actually limited to 6 GB), but I never even get close to that.
https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/graph-1.jpg


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Just the two of us

[https://reader010.{domain}/reader010/html5/0611/5b1e48f088aae/5b1e48f701d1b.jpg]

Location: Chicago

ISP: Comcast

Household: Two adults in their mid-30s

Connected devices: 2 PCs, 1 Apple TV, 1 Comcast tuner and DVR, 1 connected Blu-Ray player

Pay TV Subscriber: Yes

Gamers: No

Notes: We rent a fair amount of movies each month, either directly from Comcast or from Apple. Alswe go on Netflix binges when something good comes on or we discover a new TV show. In June w

watched two seasons of The Leaguein a single week, which might explain the jump.

Welcome to the empty nest
https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/chicagocomcast.jpg


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[https://reader010.{domain}/reader010/html5/0611/5b1e48f088aae/5b1e48f832a41.jpg]

Location: Missouri City, Texas

ISP: Comcast

Household: Adults aged 60 and 58

Connected devices:2 smartphones, 1 tablet, 3 computers, 2 Sony (sne) Playstations, 2 DirecTV HD

receivers

Pay TV subscriber: Yes

Gamers: casual

Notes: We watched two movies in June using Netflix.

Teenagers change everything
https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/comcasthouston.jpg


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[https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/austinteenusage.jpg]

Location: Austin, Texas

ISP:Time Warner Cable

Household: Two adults in their mid-forties and 3 kids aged 10, 12, and 14.

Connected devices: Four smartphones, 3 iPads, 1 Transformer prime, 1 Kindle Fire, 3 Apple TV boxe

3 set-top boxes, 3 Kindle e-Readers, 4 PCs, 2 Macs, 1 iPod, 1 XboxPay TV subscribers: Yes

Gamers: Kids play casual games

Notes: We rent all movies from Apple TV and we subscribe to five TV shows over Apple TV. Every

person except our 10-year-old is a heavy social media user and big into personal videos and photos

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Related research

Connected-consumer second-quarter 2014: analysis and outlook

?
http://research.gigaom.com/report/connected-consumer-second-quarter-2014-analysis-and-outlook/?utm_source=tech&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=543685+america-show-me-your-broadband-usage&utm_content=shigginbothamhttps://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/austinteenusage.jpg


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by Stacey Higginbotham

JUL. 19, 2012 - 11:49 AM PDT

Follow @gigastacey or @gigaom for more stories like this.

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Josh SaundersThursday, July 19, 2012

nice stats.

interesting to see so many legitimate users.. I dont know anyone who pays for digital media..

but I did read Australia has the highest number of pirates per capita.. perhaps its to do with ourheritage?

Stacey Higginbotham > Josh SaundersFriday, July 20, 2012

Or maybe really long content windows?

MarkSaturday, July 21, 2012

I dont buy it that a purely legitimate usage home that >also< subscribes to cable TV can use

320GB and 254GB in back-to-back months. They are either part of a botnet that they are

unaware of, torrenting, or doing something else It's very, very, very hard to consume that

much data. Watching 5 series shows a bunch of movies on AppleTV is nowhere near enough

data to push the envelope that far.
http://research.gigaom.com/report/mobile-second-quarter-2014-analysis-and-outlook/?utm_source=tech&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=543685+america-show-me-your-broadband-usage&utm_content=shigginbothamhttp://research.gigaom.com/report/forecast-smart-homes-and-the-internet-of-things/?utm_source=tech&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=auto3&utm_term=543685+america-show-me-your-broadband-usage&utm_content=shigginbothamhttps://twitter.com/gigaomhttps://twitter.com/gigastaceyhttp://search.gigaom.com/author/staceyh/


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TWC User > MarkTuesday, September 11, 2012

My family uses about 650GB a month average and we do not torrent. TWC San Antonio

here 4 PCs, 2 xbox360, 1 PS3, 1 wii, four HTPC not including the other 4, Netflix, avid gamers

specially me on PC, I get my games from Steam and also have an OnLive account, 3

smartphones, 4 tablets, 3 laptops, have tv with TWC, online backups, if my toilet could be

networked it would be

Chubbysumo > MarkTuesday, September 11, 2012

Yea, so, i dont now where they get that the average user uses only ~20GB or less per month,

because as a single user, with legal torrents and netflix, and amazon prime, and many other

legit streaming and downloading sources(hulu, ect), even with cable TV, I still manage to use

over 800GB+ per month, and have for the last 2 years(router logs to prove). I think theyexclude heavy users from their stats just to influence how they appear. Since my ISP does

not track usage, but imposes a cap, i have to track it myself, and have never gotten a complaint

from them. More regularly, I go closer to 1TB per month, and sometimes go over that. Highest

in the last 12 months is 2.3TB, and lowest is 599GB. Gaming, and streaming add up, and as

quality increases on streaming, so too will the amount of data they consume. Fun fact: Did you

know that the more data you use, the less per GB it actually costs your ISP? per a recent

reports, ISPs only pay between $0.01 and $0.03 per GB depending on how much is used. The

reason they want a low cap and overage model is pure cash grab, since if they billed you for

actual usage, at an acceptable rate(meaning their costs plus a small reasonable profit), theywould only be making $0.10 per GB at most, that means for my 1000GB, I would only be paying

$100 per month, but that granny who only checks her email and uses 1/2 a GB, would only

have a few dollar bill. If they want Usage Based Billing, they would not make any money, and

profits would fall. This cap plus overage model is a pure cash grab, even in the wireless sector.

Michael Elling > ChubbysumoThursday, September 13, 2012

Fancy that! Someone actually alluded to declining marginal cost; something that seems to

have disappeared from this industry over the past 15 years. Do I hear someone saying Moores

and Metcalfes laws? Say it aint so!


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