Skype video and voice calling requirements

Skype's technical requirements page suggests 100 Kbps for voice calling and 300 Kbps for basic video calling. HD video calling needs 1.5 Mbps

Skype, How much bandwidth does Skype need?

Cisco assumes 7% annual improvement in video compression

In setting out their methodology for their VNI traffic forecast, Cisco note that they assume a 7% annual gain from improved compression (p9)

Cisco, Cisco Visual Networking Index:Forecast and Methodology, 2015-2020, 7 Jun 2016

Next gen V-Nova compression enables Sky to halve bandwidth for HD IPTV to 4 Mbps

Through a software upgrade of set-top-boxes, Sky Italia is reducing the bandwidth required for its HD IPTV services from 8 Mbps to 4 Mbps. The improvement is based on V-Nova's PERSEUS technology.

V-Nova, V-Nova PERSEUS™ and Sky in Italy lead compression innovation halving Full HD IPTV service bandwidth on existing platform, 19 April 2016

Conviva publishes data on mix of bandwidths used for video

Conviva finds that video streams with bitrates between 2 and 5 Mbps are growing share (at 34.1% in 2015). However, there are still few streams with bitrates above 5 Mbps (2.7%). The report also includes data on the mix of viewing by device type, suggesting that connected TVs dominate.

Conviva, VXR 2015 End of Year Edition and 2016 Predictions, 30 December 2015

Cox cite video bandwidths by resolution and codec

Cox (a US cableco) presented requirements for different resolutions using MPEG2 and HEVC (p17). For example, using HEVC:

• 18-30 Mbps for 4K
• 3-8 Mbps for HD
• 1-2 Mbps for SD

Cox Media, HbbTV Symposium : USA Update, 8 December 2015

AD Little's view on video bandwidth

In a study for French telecoms operators, AD Little report:

• 1-5 Mbps for YouTube
• 2-5 Mbps for Netflix (SD or HD)
• 25 Mbps for 4K

AD Little, Etude économie des télécoms 2015, 12 November 2015

YouTube says 360 degree video requires 4-5x the bandwidth of traditional YouTube video

Quoted in Gizmodo, Anjali Wheeler of YouTube says 360 degree videos take up 4 to 5 times as much bandwidth as a traditional YouTube video.

Gizmodo, YouTube's Ready To Blow Your Mind With 360-Degree Videos, 13 March 2015