iPhone 5S And 4G Users Consume Most Mobile Data

iPhone 5S users consume more data than any other mobile device owners, according to a new report, which also suggests that 4G users are consuming ten times more data than those on 3G connections.

Scientists at JDSU’s Location Intelligence Business Unit, formerly Arieso, discovered that iPhone 5S users in developed markets used seven times more data than iPhone 3G users, and 20 times more data than in developing countries.

The iPhone has headed the rankings for the last three years. Apple devices account for six of the top ten data hungry devices this year too. iPad, iPhone 5, 5C and 4S, HTC Sensation, Sony Xperia SP and Samsung Galaxy SII are the other nine devices which consume more date per user than any others.

iPhone 5S data use

“Each new generation of iPhone has resulted in increases in data consumption of between 20-40 percent – even today when data use is common,” says Michael Flanagan, CTO of mobility for the network and service enablement business at JDSU and author of the study. “Though interestingly, users of the more economically-priced iPhone 5C consume data in the range between that of the iPhone 4S and 5 users.”

This is the fourth edition of the study, which this year has been expanded to cover data consumption by 4G and 3G users. One percent of 3G users consume half of 3G data, whereas 0.1 percent of 4G users are responsible for half of 4G data use – something which could have an impact on future network development.

“The faster the speeds that mobile operators provide, the more consumers swallow it up and demand more,” explains Flanagan. “One would expect a honeymoon period in which early adopters test their toys. But for 4G users to consistently exhibit behaviour 10 times more extreme than 3G users well after launch constitutes a seismic shift in the data landscape. This has important ramifications for future network designs.”

All four major UK operators now offer 4G services, with EE launching in November 2012 and Vodafone and O2 following in August. Three, the final network to launch LTE, has been banned from describing its DC-HSPDA+ service as ‘3.9G’ by the Advertising Standards Agency.

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