Now this is something that should get the attention of cable companies. Ontario-based Sandvine Corp. has released their report on internet usage for the month of March in North America. Netflix led the pack accounting for 29.7%Â (growth of 44% since the last report)Â of all internet bandwidth, surpassing even BitTorrent.
“Netflix has surpassed file sharing and BitTorrent, but BitTorrent hasn’t really declined,†explained Tom Donnelly, co-founder and executive vice president of network technology maker Sandvine.
“Given that there hasn’t been a decline in volume of file sharing traffic you could easily suppose that these are new people using Netflix. There are clearly a number of people who, for whatever reason, are not going to use file sharing networks to access content and now they have another choice.â€
This news is interesting, but not surprising given the recent growth of Netflix in Canada and the US. The battle for bandwidth continues as recently Shaw has opted for UBB, and Bell is still trying to shed its own UBB nightmare.
Prior to Netflix’s entry into Canada, Rogers capped bandwidth for users, and they’ve also recently admitted to supressing bandwidth for WoW players. Netflix has supported its Canadian userbase by allowing options for reduced data consumption for streaming.
Netflix Canada offers the first month free. The library has grown substantially since its original launch, thanks to signing on with Paramount for content. Also, the number of TV seasons has increased along with older movies. It doesn’t compete with Netflix USA, but hey, it’s the only viable option for Canadians at this time and I fully support them.
Are you a Netflix Canada subscriber? How do you like it?
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I love Netflix, i have been using their service since they came to Canada. Even thoug they don’t have the same catalog that in USA, it’s getting bigger every day.Â
Yeah, I agree. We need to realize that when Netflix USA started, their
library was very small. Look at them now! Netflix Canada can only get
better.
 I like netflix, shows a lot of decide older movies. Think we’re on to month 2 for them so far. Occasionally there is some display artefacts but the PS3 is WiFi connected to the net but overall I like the quality.
Wish I could unlock some movies that don’t seem to be available though when I search for them manually.Â
I am seeing local video shops closing down though. Blockbuster declared banktrupsy, and a local indie store on Denman are closing their doors. A local Roger’s video also closed down. I like still renting BluRay movies (higher quality picture/sound) but only for new releases. It’s cheaper than ordering HD (720p mind you) via Shaw on Demand.Â
I will still buy my DVDs/BluRay movies :)Â
I been using Netflix since about last summer but only really started hitting hit hard the last couple months. My wife and i are slaves to watching 2-3 episodes of anime per night lol
Now all Netflix needs to do is open up their own Internet service with unlimited bandwidth to Netflix and have a cap for all other bandwidth for a set price and we’re golden. For example 50 gb a month and unlimited Netflix downloads for $39.99 including the Netflix subscription. I can see this happening someday.
Here in Quebec, you can now pay 8$ a month to rent any amount of older movies at videotron (videostore owned by Quebecor). It’s good cause they do have more choices but then again, I don’t have to go in stores woth Netflix…
Not if UBB is fully implemented.
simple put, for the majority of p2p users
netflix is e as i e r / s i m p le r than p2pÂ