The Internet traffic has been analyzed in five regions of the world by ipoque, a provider of solutions for Internet traffic management. The study analyzes the period between August and September 2007. the user behavior is analyzed, providing extensive statistics of the state of the Internet. Helpful data is provided about P2P (peer-to-peer), VoIP, Skype, file hosters like RapidShare and streaming services like YouTube.

Last year's study mostly regarded P2P, but this year the focus is also on Internet telephony (VoIP), Skype, video streaming, instant messaging (IM), file hosting and encrypted P2P protocols. Data coming from over  million users in Australia, Eastern Europe, Germany, the Middle East and Southern Europe has also been analyzed in order to compare the different results coming from these parts of the world.
Internbet traffic is highly populated by P2P file sharing, having a share range extending between 49 percent in the Middle East and 84 percent in Eastern Europe. The percentage is higher during the night, namely up to 95. File sharing is largely used, by every fifth Internet user. The most known protocol is  BitTorrent, but in  Southern Europe it changes to eDonkey.

Encrypted P2P protocols are also taken into analysis by ipoque. The advantages of encryption include anonymous file sharing and having the shaping and blocking of traffic by network operators avoided.  Both BitTorrent and eDonkey provide almost 20 percent of encrypted traffic. The study mentioned among the most familiar file sharing videos, including movies, pornography and music. The Middle East has the highest number of eBooks shared, while Southern europe is ruled by computer games, according to the study.

Only one percent is gained by voice over IP (VoIP) in the Internet traffic, while Skype gets 95 percent of all Internet Telephony. Still, 30 percent of the users prefer Voice over IP (VoIP). However, Skype remains the most popular.

The use of instant messaging (IM) is different in every region. For example, IM is used by 60 percent of users in the Middle East, while in Germany only by 17 percent.

Even though a feature like Joost is present in the media, it doesn't begin to compare with Flash movies when it comes to success. Web sites such as YouTube have Flash movies embedded, producing high traffic. The study shows that 8 percent of the Internet traffic was caused by this and other ways of video streaming.

Another considered factor in the study was that of hosting services such as  RapidShare and MegaUpload. Various files can be uploaded on these web servers. A  URL is pointed to the user as to indicate the uploaded file, also known as "Direct Download Link" (DDL).other users can then receive the link on web forums or on their email. The internet traffic grants between  four and nine percent to file hosters.
Controversial discussions have been launched about the copyright and network congestion of some of these applications.

Hendrik Schulze, CEO of ipoque and co-author of the study, stated: "With this study we want to contribute facts to the numerous, often heated debates on these topics."

For more information, you can visit http://www.ipoque.com/media