Contributed Article
By Steve Miller-Jones VP, Product Strategy at Netskrt Systems Inc.
The live streaming tsunami
Live sports has quickly become some of the most-streamed content across digital platforms around the globe. Between live matches and Match of the Day highlights, the UK Premier League commands some 59% of the total UK TV audience. Meanwhile, the 2024 Uefa European Championship final was streamed by 24 million UK viewers according to SportsPro Media. While these viewership numbers are sizable, they’re just the beginning of a live streaming wave that, for many industry insiders, feels a bit more like a tsunami.
Subscribers demand more than VoD
For Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Content Providers, it’s not enough to just serve popular video content on demand – they need to ensure consistent streaming performance, too. Subscribers today expect HD VoD streaming anywhere, high bitrates, immediate player startup, no buffering, and zero interruptions. Whether they’re streaming video from major cities or remote highlands, viewers require a high Quality of Experience (QoE) every. single. time.
Peak traffic and the capacity problem
While major live streaming events are great for revenue, they can also increase network traffic by 50% or more, causing bandwidth capacity issues and poor video quality for viewers – particularly in underserved areas. In larger ISP networks, these traffic spikes can be somewhat absorbed, as capacity can be spread over a larger area. For ISPs serving smaller communities and rural areas, however, capacity is often constricted. Yes, extra capacity can be purchased, if it is available, but this requires gauging the anticipated capacity of an upcoming live streaming event well in advance, plus the high additional costs that come with covering peak traffic. When live streaming traffic spikes are consistently growing and becoming more frequent, this is not a sustainable long-term solution for most ISPs, let alone newer service provider start-ups entering the market.
Remedying rural networks
With the advancement of Project Gigabit and the rise of Alternative Network Providers (AltNets), the focus on better serving rural networks in the UK is starting to shift. By the end of 2025, 15 million subscribers based in underserved areas and rural communities across the UK will have gigabit-capable broadband. In an effort to serve these rural communities, AltNet start-ups will soon be poised to grow networks that run in parallel to established UK ISPs.
Yet, as live streaming increases, particularly for high-demand sports content, so does the urgency to ensure consistent delivery, performance, and QoE for these rural viewers. Where Project Gigabit offers throughput, AltNets must effectively offer quality live streaming video for every subscriber they serve. Unfortunately, the capacity problem will persist.
Solving the capacity problem
Should backhaul capacity become constrained, rural ISPs and AltNets across the UK may be faced with a conundrum: Either accept the likelihood of a suboptimal subscriber experience during peak streaming events like live sports, or, find a way to prepare their networks more efficiently. With frequent traffic spikes due to live streaming becoming the new norm, solving the capacity problem is essential for providing a consistent quality streaming experience to subscribers.
One solution that’s been gaining traction in the US and UK: placing a cache within the serving ISP’s network. With a locally embedded cache, content is stored and delivered closer to subscribers, easing backhaul requirements by collapsing multiple requests for the same content into a single request. Embedded caches can improve QoE, in addition to key metrics like time to first byte, rebuffer ratio, and average bitrate, ultimately providing subscribers everywhere with the streaming experience they expect.
Netskrt’s last-mile CDN
Thankfully, investing in a locally embedded cache doesn’t have to break the bank. ISPs can build and implement their own cache with open source software like Varnish or NGINX; or they can partner with a technology solution like Netskrt. With Netskrt, ISPs can implement a fully managed last-mile CDN to deliver high-quality streaming video consistently, without the cost of building and maintaining their own. More than just a cache, Netskrt technology can pre-position popular content so that upstream backhaul happens one time only: when getting the content into the embedded cache.
By implementing a locally embedded cache like Netskrt in underserved and rural subscriber areas, UK ISPs and AltNets can easily address capacity issues while improving overall viewer QoE, regardless of traffic spikes or multi-hop network locations. To learn more, read how a regional ISP in New York deployed Netskrt’s last-mile CDN to reduce backhaul requirements for live streamed NFL games.
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