OpenVault Broadband Insights Report Q3 2020

A rapid rise in the number of “power users” consuming 1 TB or more of data per month and continued migration to faster speed tiers are creating new revenue opportunities for broadband service providers, according to the Q3 2020 OpenVault Broadband Insights report. The report also provides a more detailed breakdown of the outsized impact of power users and gigabit speeds on network capacity, particularly in the upstream. Key findings in the OVBI Q32020 report include:

• As traffic has exploded during the pandemic, data confirms the value of usage-based billing in prompting subscribers to self-align their speed plans with their consumption.
  • The 3Q20 OVBI observes the sharp upward trending of three key year-over-year indices – a 110% increase in power users to 8.8% of all subscribers, a 172% jump in extreme power users of 2 TB or more to 1%, and a 124% rise in subscribers provisioned for gigabit speeds to 5.6%. An analysis of the top 1% of power users showed that 80% of those on usage-based billing (UBB) plans subscribe to higher-ARPU faster speed tiers, while 49% more flat-rate billing (FRB) subscribers take lower-cost speed plans that provide operators with lower ARPU.
• While bandwidth usage is remaining relatively at quarter- over-quarter, it is not retreating to pre-pandemic levels, indicating that COVID-19 driven usage growth has established a new normal pattern for bandwidth usage.
  • The monthly weighted average data consumed by subscribers in 3Q20 was 383.8 GB, up nearly 40% from 3Q19’s weighted average of 275.1 GB, but up less than 1% from 2Q20. Growth for both FRB and UBB subscribers remained essentially flat between 2Q20 and 3Q20.