Key insights
Comparing downlink and uplink traffic across four European mobile networks shows that video still dominates downlink usage, while cloud storage and communication services generate relatively more uplink traffic.
YouTube – the dominant platform in terms of reach
Across the four European mobile service providers, YouTube consistently emerges as a leading video service by user share, with the share of mobile video users ranging from about 73 percent to nearly 99 percent. Almost every mobile video user consumes YouTube content, making it the dominant platform in terms of reach. In terms of traffic volume, it takes the clear lead in two networks with a 34 and 21 percent share, while in one network it shares the top position with Instagram, and in the fourth network it remains a major contributor despite a slightly lower user share.
TikTok is the third most popular service by reach, with user share ranging from 52–59 percent and generating about 20–40 percent of the video traffic across the four service providers.
Instagram’s user base varies across the four networks: It engages around 50 percent of users in two networks, while its adoption remains limited in the other two. In terms of traffic share, Instagram is most dominant in one network, accounting for about 20 percent of the total traffic.
Facebook is especially popular in two networks, engaging more than 75 percent of video users and accounting for over 20 percent of total video traffic in both networks. Across the other networks, Facebook still attracts a large share of users, but it generates a smaller proportion of traffic there. This pattern suggests that consumption is driven by autoplay content and short-form formats like Reels, which increase user counts but have shorter viewing times.
The application mix and share of traffic in the sampled networks might not represent the absolute shares of the total traffic, as some traffic could not be classified. For example, the absolute share of video traffic is presumably higher across all networks as part of it is included in the categories “Other” and “Social networking” (such as Instagram feeds, Reels and Stories). The analysis is based on one week of data collection.
Smartphone video experience differs across models
Mobile video experience on smartphones depends on several measurable factors, including intrinsic encoding quality (influenced by resolution, frame rate and codec) and dynamic quality effects such as time-to-content, rebuffering events and resolution adaptations to available channel capacity. It also depends on a specific smartphone model’s capability. Calculated performance metrics across the sampled networks show that high-end flagship smartphones delivered the best streaming experience, with higher bitrates and QoE scores[2] of above 4.2, while entry-level models showed lower bitrates and QoE scores of 3.6–4.0. Overall, flagship smartphones deliver a superior video streaming experience due to better bitrate performance and optimization.
As expected, professionally produced and optimized streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime deliver higher bitrates and superior QoE scores compared with social media video platforms. Notably, Instagram achieves unusually high QoE scores despite lower bitrates, suggesting particularly effective adaptation and encoding strategies that preserve perceived quality under constrained network conditions.
5G enhances the streaming and scrolling experience
Across all four networks, 5G consistently delivers an improved video streaming experience compared with 4G. The enhancement is noticeable for long-form, high-quality content on video-on-demand platforms, where higher bitrates, shorter stall times and better QoE make streaming smoother. For short-form, social-media videos, 5G provides faster startup and smoother playback, minimizing interruptions as users rapidly scroll. In both cases, the upgrade to 5G results in a more responsive and reliable viewing experience.
