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This content collection is a timely update and expansion of some of the ‘Streaming Tsunami’ article series first published on The Broadcast Bridge in 2023.

Streaming delivery is dependent on sufficient bandwidth within strategic pathways at Origin, CDN Edge, ISP Core Network, and Access Network. The big picture challenge discussed here is that if demand for video streaming scales as anticipated, existing infrastructure does not currently have sufficient capacity. The challenges have evolved since 2023 but remain largely unresolved.

Using the UK as an illustrative example we begin by examining the scale of the challenge using population data, rates of adoption of streaming, and recent peak bandwidth demands. We examine current infrastructure and explore it’s potential bottlenecks.

The series goes on to discuss key objectives that future infrastructure will need to meet to satisfy full scale streaming demand and proposed strategies that are under discussion.

The series also draws in conversation with SVT about Sweden’s challenges as commercial broadcaster BoxerTV withdraws entirely from DTT, leaving the national broadcaster with a potentially unsustainable increase in DTT infrastructure cost - a scenario which may become familiar elsewhere as commercial broadcasters with diminishing ad revenues struggle to justify the cost of producing sufficient programming to sustain linear DTT channels.

About Fixing The Internet For Streaming

This free PDF download contains five extended length original articles:

Article 1 : Seeing The Tsunami Coming
Streaming video is on the cusp of becoming a major problem for broadband networks. We are about to see a huge Tsunami wave of demand emerge as broadcasters finally make a big shift towards streaming-first.

Article 2 : Preventing The Flood
Today, most broadcasters deliver less than 10% of their total viewing hours via OTT streaming services. As that shifts to streaming-first delivery the Tsunami will be big... so what can be done about it?

Article 3 : Requirements For A Video CDN Blueprint
An assessment of the key industry wide objectives that future video streaming infrastructure would need to meet to satisfy the demands of full-scale streaming.

Article 4 : A National Strategy For Video Streaming Delivery
The shift from DTT to OTT centric delivery and full-scale streaming is set to generate growth in required capacity of 10x current peak streaming demand. Here we use the UK as a model to present a theoretical new streaming infrastructure based on a unified edge network.

Article 5 : Sweden’s Journey From DTT To OTT – An Inflexion Point
In Sweden the withdrawal of commercial operator BoxerTV from DTT transmission to go streaming only is triggering a reassessment in DTT viability that may be a precursor to similar transitions in other countries.