Change often resembles fear. They go hand in hand and the latter tends to prevent the former. From the first moment a new idea is introduced into society, it isn’t until years later that same idea is recognized and admired. Which eventually happens when the unexpected comes into play. In the case of streaming, that is what we are currently transitioning into, the unforeseen.

Due to the adverse circumstances COVID-19 has put the world in and the measures people are taking, such as staying home for longer periods of time, the streaming routine is beginning to alter. People have gone from binge-watching at night, to all day, and it is taking a toll on the internet. 

Just take a look at what Thierry Breton suggested:

https://twitter.com/ThierryBreton/status/1240353171748331523

And not surprisingly, they listened. This is not only an issue in Europe, but the USA, Australia, South America, and so forth.

Granted, all of the above is happening due to the unique circumstances we have been put into, such as the abrupt pause in the sports world. But what happens when this becomes an everyday issue? What then? 

There are companies who claim that they are able to handle the current spikes in traffic, such as BT, but to what point? 

We cannot take the same measures when these audience levels eventually become the norm, as new streaming platforms are being offered every year and more viewers sign up. I’m sure you as much as any other avid streamer does not enjoy watching at a reduced quality. Especially if you are paying extra for the contrary.

With the continued rise of traffic being imminent, it will become an issue, rather than a benefit. That is when p2p should step in. 

Many of the top named OTTs/streaming platforms have had their respective issues over the past couple of weeks, from crashes to blackouts. With more people quarantining, more weight is being put upon traditional CDNs and ISPs, as they attempt to handle the big influxes of traffic.

On the contrary, our peering technology has performed extremely well, among our clients, during this rapid market shift. 

Conveniently, our most significant advantage is we work hand-in-hand with ISPs and built our whole service based on the information we get from network topologies. Specifically reducing the stress on the core of the network with the peering points among ISPs. Avoiding the need to take such measures as slashing traffic.

Via algorithms that detect new delivery routes, our backend infrastructure is built to provide the flexibility that content is currently demanding. Aiding in the expansion of delivery resources, all the while enhancing the CDNs’ performance. Much of which is evidently lacking at the moment, in this contemporary dilemma we are experiencing.

Many believe that p2p has only one legitimate use case, live events, and although that may be where it provides the most value, the present state is proving otherwise.

And notice how we are not the only ones saying so. As this Faultline article reports:

“Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Disney+, Apple TV+, Facebook and many more have all committed to bitrate squeezes for the next 30 days across Europe to help ease the continent’s now monolithic traffic load. Tier 1 providers typically build in-house CDNs, often supported by mainstream CDNs, giving them extra control of what is delivered and how it is delivered. These companies can bring in extra compression clout, roll out more encoders, more edge caching capabilities, or more niche bandwidth-crunching techniques like P2P networking, but the ISP situation is a little trickier.”

Faultline, 2020

 

Opportunity comes from change. It is in our hands to take this crisis and change it into an opportunity. Now is the moment to consider a different way of streaming delivery. 

With the popularity of OTT streaming on the rise, along with what many predict to be a step in the downfall of movie theaters as well, this is just a preview of what the future may hold.

Are you prepared?