Mu Dynamics

Mu Dynamics

Mu Dynamics Application Quadrant #3: Understanding the Impact to Consumers and Network Operators of Different Mobile Devices Using Skype

Mu Dynamics Reveals Skype on Mac (OS X) Costs at Least 28% More for Consumers and Operator Networks Than on iPhone, iPad, Android, or PC
Added: November 7, 2011 Comments (0)
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Summary

This report describes what Consumers and Network Operators need to know about Skype and shows that:

  • Skype for voice calls on a Mac (OS X) will consume at least 28% more bandwidth and network resources than an iPhone, iPad, Android phone and a PC – something of which consumers and operators alike should be wary.
  • Skype for instant messaging on a Mac (OS X) will consume at least 30% more network resources than an iPhone, iPad, Android phone and a PC – something of which operators should be wary.
  • Skype for instant messaging on an iPad will consume at least 39% more bandwidth than an iPhone, Android phone, MacBook and a PC – something of which consumers should be wary.

Introduction

In the second Mu Dynamics Application Quadrant report, we focused exclusively on the Netflix service to analyze whether the client device and operating system makes a difference on the impact to consumers and network operators. In this third edition we are doing the same analysis, but for the Skype service with voice calls and instant messaging.

With 170 million connected users and over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations in 2010, Skype today has over 30 million users online at peak times. According to Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report, Spring 2011, Skype ranks third in North America by peak period fixed access upstream application traffic by bytes.

Key Findings

The following findings were observed for voice calls:

Relative to the other endpoints, the Skype voice application on:

  1. The MacBook is by far the least Consumer-friendly and the least Operator-friendly
  2. The iPad and iPhone are the most Operator-friendly
  3. Windows 7 is the most Consumer-friendly

 

The following findings were observed for instant messaging chats:

Relative to the other endpoints, the Skype IM application on:

  1. Windows 7 is the most Operator-friendly
  2. The iPad is the least Consumer-friendly
  3. The MacBook is the most Consumer-friendly, but the least Operator-friendly 


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