LTE Users Consume 5X as Much Video as 3G Users

Long Term Evolution 4G networks have a rather predictable impact on mobile data consumption: the amount of data consumed each month grows, compared to data consumption on 3G networks.

In fact, some studies also suggest that access to LTE networks also increases use of Wi-Fi.

A study of Android smartphone users by Devicescape, conducted over six months, found that 4G LTE users consumption of Wi-Fi and mobile data doubled, compared to data consumed by 3G users.

On average, 4G smartphone users consume 2.1 times more mobile data per month and twice as much Wi-Fi than their 3G counterparts.

This is due to the fact that 4G customers use their mobile device about 40 percent to 50 percent more than 3G users and consume richer content. Also, as a practical matter, one minute of use of LTE results in more consumption than one minute of 3G usage simply because more data can be transferred in the same amount of time.

A September 2014 report by Citrix found that video accounted for 52 percent of all mobile traffic, on both 4G and 3G networks.

But 4G users were 1.5 times as many requests for video over 4G LTE networks than on 3G networks, and those requests resulted in five times as much video data traffic on 4G compared with 3G.