Last year we published some numbers the day after iOS 6 launched, that showed how traffic to Apple’s updates servers increased as much as nine times .

 As you can see in the photo above (yes, I’m already running iOS 7), some of the apps publishing updates are among the most popular in the App Store. This means that many subscribers are likely getting prompted for updates already as well.

Below is a chart from a single North American fixed operator comparing Apple App Store traffic yesterday, with that of the previous two Tuesdays in September. The chart shows yesterday’s traffic being fairly average during the day, but then a significant uptick in traffic occurred as iOS 7 compatible apps were released in the evening, with the App Store generating 74% more traffic between the hours of 8PM and midnight EDT.

Major software releases from Apple actually have a larger impact on fixed networks than mobile, because Apple prevents users from updating apps over 50MB (Edit: Looks like Apple raised the limit to 100MB today.) using their cellular radio. This means that major OS updates, and large apps such as games need to be downloaded on fixed networks and then devices updated via Wi-Fi or through iTunes.

When I installed the gold master version of iOS 7 on my iPhone it was 1.2GB in size, and when you combine that with the multitude of app updates developers are pushing out I would expect to once again see a significant spike in traffic to Apple’s update servers today.

Be sure to check back tomorrow, for a detailed analysis on the impact that the launch of iOS 7 made.

Contrary to popular thought and the overly-simplistic views of popular quality “benchmarks”, the Internet access provider is not the sole (or necessarily even the primary) influencer of subscribers’ Internet quality of experience. The quality of experience of an end-user for a given Internet-delivered application or content is affected by many choices made by many players through the value chain. This is the first of a series of blog posts, that explores those choices based on excerpts from Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Spotlight: Exposing the Technical and Commercial Factors Underlying Internet Quality of Experience.

Netflix restricts access to their Super HD content because my ISP has chosen not to put an Open Connect CDN in their network. Netflix has not put this restriction in place because of any bandwidth limitation on my ISP, but because of a commercial decision regarding how Netflix distributes video.

How do I know there is no technical limitation? By simply changing my DNS using a service such as Unblock-US (and in so doing tricking Netflix into believing that I am accessing the service from a Super HD offering ISP), I instantly become capable of accessing Super HD content on several compatible devices in my home.

If you’re interested in seeing the difference Super HD makes, you can give this trick a try and leave a comment below about what you think of the quality.

UPDATE on September 26, 2012: After posting this blog, Netflix has announced that SuperHD content will be available to all customers regardless of whether their ISP has an OpenConnect appliance installed in their network.

Your device of choice limits choice?

Below is the list of devices capable of accessing Super HD content.

My work laptop is a 12-month old Dell laptop with above average specifications, running Windows 7. If I try to access Netflix content on this computer at work (for research purposes, I swear), I am not offered the option to view video in Super HD.

If I (or according to Sandvine corporate policy, our IT department) update this laptop to Windows 8, I would suddenly be able to access Super HD content through the Windows 8 app Netflix offers. Aside from the OS upgrade, my computer would have the same technical capabilities; Netflix has just made the choice to not offer an app to Windows 7 users even though Windows 7 and Windows 8 are very similar from a software perspective.

Supporting every video resolution, on every platform would be a technical and financial challenge for many content providers. When it comes to Super HD content however, Netflix is making the decision to restrict its access to consumers on some of the largest ISPs in North America, and those on the most popular operating system in the world.

By doing so, it directly impacts the results of their ISP Speed Index. While the Index appears to measure the “speed” capabilities of ISPs, it actually examines the average video bitrate, which means that ISPs that don’t have access to Super HD content are automatically put at a disadvantage. The Index doesn’t measure ISP “quality” at all, a fact that is not obvious from the Index’s presentation and is poorly understood by Index followers.

In the coming weeks we will take a deeper look at other key players in the Internet ecosystem and how the commercial and technical decisions that they make impact overall Internet quality. For those too eager to wait for our next post, you can download the Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Spotlight: Exposing the Technical and Commercial Factors Underlying Internet Quality of Experience today.

Everybody relax. That Google outage on Friday likely did not cause global consumer internet traffic to instantly drop by 40%. Might it have still been significant? Absolutely.

Are you faced with the dilemma of satisfying growing bandwidth demands on your mobile network, while keeping capital and operating expenditures in check?  Looking for ways to simultaneously gain revenue from your network and avoid user bill shock?  In this day and age of mobile broadband, users expect to be able to enjoy their favorite apps anywhere, anytime.  This poses a challenge for mobile operators that wish to preserve a high quality of experience for their subscribers regardless of their location.  As a mobile network provider, you understand the importance of maintaining a close relationship with your subscriber, and of growing customer loyalty through valued service offerings and excellent network performance.

One often thinks of roamers in the context of one-time vacations, but there can be many times during the day when commuters are crossing back and forth from their home network into a visited network.  So, roaming does happen frequently.  Pandora has emerged as the leading provider of streaming audio in mobile networks in North America, comprising over 5% of downstream traffic according to Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report, and many people use it for long-term radio streaming during daily commutes.  This leads rise to the situation where commuters cross from their home network into a visited network and their Pandora usage charges can add up – either on their bill or on your bill. As the operator of the home network, you may be offering fixed roaming allowances, or even unlimited roaming allowances, to your subscribers while your commercial agreements with peer mobile networks require you to pay a variable $/MB fee for your roaming subscribers’ traffic.  This scenario can make these types of subscribers unprofitable for your mobile data business.