That new and improved antenna in the iPhone 4S is apparently helping its users download gobs of data. In fact, according to a new report from network management firm Arieso, iPhone 4S owners use twice as much data as their iPhone 4-using brethren, and nearly three times as much as iPhone 3G users. The data is part of an overall trend of growing data usage among smartphone owners, with Arieso warning that data congestion issues among cell networks will worsen throughout 2012.

Arieso used the iPhone 3G as its baseline for comparison throughout 2011, just as it did for its study in 2010. iPhone 4S users downloaded 276 percent of the data used by iPhone 3G users, and uploaded 320 percent. A couple of Android phones made an appearance in the list too, with the Samsung Galaxy S downloading 199 percent of the data used by iPhone 3Gs. The Galaxy S didn't make a showing in the uplink list, but the HTC Desire S did, at 323 percent of the data uploaded by iPhone 3G users. Clearly, the smartphone owners of 2011 are making an effort to watch as many cat videos on YouTube as they possibly can.

In addition to the smartphone data, Arieso pointed out that overall data use is increasing dramatically, and the top one percent of smartphone users now consume half of all downloaded data. "Without adequately preparing networks to support the new generation of smart devices, operators risk spiralling and misplaced operational expenditure and delivering a sub-par quality of experience to customers," Arieso CTO and the study's author Dr. Michael Flanagan said in a statement. "It’s critical that operators redouble their efforts to limit the impact of this inevitable squeeze."