BT and Broadpeak partner on multicast for live video streaming

BT Group and Broadpeak Partner on New Multicast Technology to Enhance Live Video Streaming

LONDON and CESSON-SEVIGNE, France –— BT Group and Broadpeak®, a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced today that they are teaming up on a new solution for live video streaming. The Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery (MAUD) solution will enable more reliable, efficient, and sustainable live video streaming, with outstanding quality, and features Broadpeak’s nanoCDN™ multicast ABR (mABR). A number of major broadcasters and content companies are expected to trial this breakthrough solution in 2024.

“As more live events move online – or to online only – we are already seeing a big increase in traffic. MAUD is a revolutionary development in how live video is delivered over the internet. It will improve video streaming experiences for viewers, delivering a more reliable, consistent picture and will increase content delivery efficiency for broadcasters and video service providers,” said Howard Watson, chief security and networks officer at BT Group. “We’re excited to partner with Broadpeak, a technology provider with a successful track record for multicast ABR innovation and deployments, to leverage their technology as part of the MAUD solution.”

Broadpeak is providing BT Group with components to create the world’s first MAUD-enabled network, including its nanoCDN mABR, a proven and widely deployed solution across the world for video streaming. The nanoCDN will integrate into BT Group’s consumer smart hub routers and leverage multicast capabilities to group individual streams together in the network core, before converting them back to unicast at the edge for consumption by player applications on end-user devices. With MAUD, video service providers can serve millions of viewers with a single stream, improving content delivery efficiency and reducing costs for broadcasters, CDNs, and internet service providers.

MAUD’s unique architecture takes mABR one step further by integrating seamlessly with content provider player applications, eliminating the need to modify customers’ apps. Using up to 50% less bandwidth during peak events, MAUD reduces energy usage through the reduction of the number of deployed caches. And by efficiently delivering live video streaming, it allows broadcasters and video service providers to deliver a higher quality of experience.

“We are very excited to support BT Group with the launch of such an impressive live video streaming initiative,” said Jacques Le Mancq, CEO of Broadpeak. “MAUD answers the critical requirements for enhanced video quality, simpler content delivery, and increased sustainability, making it a game changer for broadcasters and video service providers.”