Ten per cent of mobile users munching through ninety per cent of mobile bandwidth

A new study by Bytemobile has revealed that just a small proportion of mobile phone users are gobbling their way through up to 90 per cent of operator’s bandwidth, leaving the rest of us paying for their greedy data usage.

The report found that just 10 per cent of handset owners who use the mobile internet on their phones were responsible for downloading the vast amount of data, mainly in the shape of video content and movies. The Bytemobile stats also suggested that around 60 per cent of the mobile data traffic this year is likely to end up being video.

Little wonder then that mobile provider T-Mobile last week tried to cut data tariffs for customers, dropping them down to 500MB and advising them “If you want to download, stream and watch video clips, save that stuff for your home broadband.”

Although the move by T-Mobile seemed a little rash and badly coordinated, it is also easy to understand the frustrations of mobile providers who have to deal with a handful of smartphone users exploiting the full power of their internet-enabled gadgets. Adding to the voracious thirst for data are many apps that often send and receive information, even when you’re not actively using them.

Despite the survey adding more weight to the T-Mobile way of thinking, the mobile provider has since revised its decision, stating recently that: “There will be no change to the data packages for existing customers for the duration of their contract and we apologise for any confusion caused.”