Netflix: the streaming giant’s impressive traffic consumption!

Arcep has just published its annual report on the state of the Internet in France. And the least we can say is that a few players occupy the majority of the Web!

The Internet is a world open to everyone. But if Net neutrality is a principle that makes it possible to offer fair treatment to all those acting on the Web, it is clear that a handful of giants monopolize the majority of traffic, in the world as in France, if the we are to believe the figures from ARCEP.

Netflix at the top

Net neutrality is not an irremovable principle, as certain reactions from the European Union show. It must be said that the Web clearly does not benefit its actors in the same way and for similar benefits. Just look at the state of French traffic at the end of 2022 established by the new report from Arcep.

According to the French electronic communications regulatory authority, last year it was Netflix that captured the most national bandwidth, since the world leader in video streaming then alone represented 19.7% traffic!

GAF without AM

More broadly, five companies gobble up nearly 54% of the country’s traffic. Beyond the first place of Netflix, we find Google (10.5%), Akamai (8.9%), Meta (8.2%) and finally Amazon (7%). The traditional accusation made to the GAFAM of crushing the Internet is confirmed here in half, since three of these Big Tech firms weigh on the French networks.

Apple (1.3%) and Microsoft (1%) are distinguished by a very minimal place in our national landscape, even to the point of being overtaken by a Twitch (3%), a Canal+ (2.6%) or even one OVH (1.3%). Is the proposal to tax the giants to finance the telecom networks of the Old Continent justified by these figures? And if so, can companies as gigantic as Apple or Microsoft legitimately ask for preferential treatment compared to other GAFAMs?

Source : Arcep