White Paper
Make Streaming Rock
Streaming video has increased traffic on broadband networks by orders of magnitude. But live streaming, especially of major sporting events, introduces entirely new demands on ISP networks that they were not built to accommodate. ISPs everywhere will need to rethink many of the most fundamental aspects of their networks in order to survive this onslaught. And that will take more than simply adding capacity. It will take a reassessment of how video content is distributed and made available to subscribers. This paper explores the impact live streaming will have on ISP networks and offers a scalable and cost-effective path forward.
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Introduction
Most broadband service providers understand that subscriber bandwidth demands have been increasing relentlessly for well over a decade and show no signs of abating. They also understand that streaming video has been, and will continue to be, the primary driver. But there are two emerging trends that threaten to ratchet up this bandwidth crunch still further while upsetting the network engineering calculus long utilized by broadband providers.
The first of these trends, covered in more detail below, includes the near saturation of streaming across US households, hitting 87 percent in 2022, and continuing to grow as households relentlessly cut the cable and stack streaming services.
The second, representing a shift with far greater long-term ramifications, is the increasing use of streaming over broadband to deliver live programming, especially sporting events. The result of these two trends is that, for too many people, streaming video is becoming a less-than-entertaining experience. Whether this is the fault of content providers, broadband providers, or in-home subscriber networks is immaterial. The result is an unhappy customer who will be less inclined to pay more for streaming and broadband services.
