HOBOKEN, N.J.—Amid the parties, family meals, visits from Santa and religious celebrations that contribute to the tapestry of holiday traditions in America, it may be time to add a new element: massive broadband usage.
According to the latest estimate from industry analytics firm OpenVault, broadband consumption is expected to grow to as much as 330GB per subscriber—a 19% increase from the Q3 2019 average of 275GB per subscriber.
“The holiday season is prime time for spikes in broadband usage that put increased stress on operators’ infrastructures,” said Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault. “As the ribbons and bows come off countless new devices and they are connected to the internet, they combine with cord-cutting, broadband network upgrades and higher speed packages to drive usage to record levels, ultimately setting the stage for the year ahead.”
Relying on historical trends identified over the past several years, the analytics firm anticipates the mean broadband usage during the Christmas/January holiday season will hit between 315GB and 330GB per subscriber.
To put that usage into perspective, holiday season broadband consumption stood at 38GB in 2012 and climbed to 270GB for the 2018 holiday season, OpenVault said.
Last year, the company also began tracking growth in the U.S. consumer device landscape. It recorded a 5.3% increase in connected devices the week after Christmas as compared to the week before, OpenVault said.
More information is available from the OpenVault website.
