First collaboration partner for BT’s multicast-assisted unicast delivery is the content delivery network Edgio
BT Group has announced that it will be collaborating with Edgio to integrate MAUD tech into its content delivery network (CND).
Edgio is an advocate for Open Caching and supports the Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA) in its mission to establish standards for scalable, efficient content delivery networks (CDNs).
Building on the strengths of the Open Caching proposed and accepted standards, Edgio and BT Group reckon they can “quickly establish the mechanisms needed to share the required information for this partnership to succeed”.
What is MAUD?
MAUD, for Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery, promises to improve the quality of streaming content. Unlike unicast delivery – where each viewer watches content via a dedicated internet stream – MAUD groups the single streams into a shared one.
This means MAUD uses up to 50% less bandwidth in peak hours, benefiting broadcasters, CDNs and internet providers by reducing energy consumption as fewer caches are needed.
Freeing up internet capacity should translate into better quality transmission.
BT announced MAUD in December 2023, calling it a “technology breakthrough for TV” and said “major broadcasters”, including the BBC, would be involved in evaluating and possibly trialling the technology for a range of live content.
In March, the operator said it would combine MAUD with Broadpeak’s nanoCDN multicast adaptive bitrate (mABR). Broadpeak provides video streaming solutions to content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide.
Trial of EE content on set-tops
Edgio is the first one to be named. With BT, it plans to trial delivery of EE TV content on some set-top-boxes in the live network in the coming months. BT said this collaboration “takes the technology from proof of concept to real-world application with the first live CDN deployment, paving the way for other CDNs to follow”.
Emma Whitmore, Group Vice President EMEA at Edgio adds: “Having worked with BT Group since the inception of MAUD we’re delighted to be the first CDN to serve content through it. By reducing congestion in the core of telco networks, clients will benefit from a more consistent, high-quality experience.
“Combined with the seamless integration of our content providers, clients can easily adopt this technology in markets where there is a mix of solutions across the network.”
Howard Watson, Chief Security and Networks Officer at BT Group said, “BT Group’s goal is to develop an efficient live streaming solution that addresses the needs of players within the content delivery path. Partnering with Edgio, we’re pioneering an effective content delivery system that seamlessly integrates with CDNs, making it accessible for external content providers”.