Broadpeak is a relatively new company, spun out from Thomson/Technicolor as a specialist in optimising content delivery networks. At NAB it introduced the nanoCDN, which was described as a means of network providers regaining control of the traffic. “Telcos are in a bad place at the moment,” said Jacques le Mancq, CEO of Broadpeak. “Traffic is building up on their networks.” As much of this traffic is now video content, it makes sense for them to manage this traffic directly. But it is hard to compete with established content delivery networks, which would also require a further significant capital investment. With the nanoCDN product, what Broadpeak is doing is taking advantage of the intelligent and storage space available in modern set-top boxes and home gateways. By adding a tiny piece of software each can act as a server, spreading the load and creating a CDN without capital investment, thereby allowing the telco or service provider to compete on price.The software plug-in can be distributed online to any suitable device, and is now pre-installed as standard on the home networking and STB products of AirTies Wireless Networks. As operators deliver a growing amount of OTT content to more and more devices with limited infrastructure resources, it becomes challenging to guarantee high video quality, especially for live content,” le Mancq said. “A unified Broadpeak and AirTies solution enables operators to extend CDN technology into the subscriber home, reducing their capital and operational expenses,” he explained. “Because AirTies’ media streamers can simultaneously connect to four devices, operators can now deliver a superior OTT experience anywhere, on any device.”
