-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Bora Akyol wrote:
The question I asked earlier was, whether the last-mile SP networks can handle 24x7 100% link utilization for all of their customers. I don't think they can. And frankly, I don't know how they are going to get revenue from the content distributors to upgrade the networks. Does Apple reimburse Comcast (my SP) when I download a song? I don't think so? What about a movie? Again, I don't think so.
You see where I am going with this.
The past solution to repetitive requests for the same content has been caching, either reactive (webcaching) or proactive (Akamaizing.) I think it is the latter we will see; service providers will push reasonably cheap servers close to the edge where they aren't too oversubscribed, and stuff their content there. A cluster of servers with terabytes of disk at a regional POP will cost a lot less than upgrading the upstream links. And even if the SPs do not want to invest in developing this product platform for themselves, the price will likely be paid by the content providers who need performance to keep subscribers. I think the biggest stumbling block isn't technical. It is a question of getting enough content to attract viewers, or alternately, getting enough viewers to attract content. Plus, you're going to a format where the ability to fast-forward commercials is a fact, not a risk, and you'll have to find a way to get advertisers' products in front of the viewer to move past pay-per-view. It's all economics and politics now. - -Dave -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFFq/hz+dqB2cHPe1URAkNIAJ9/juPTl45djTF3ijZdYubXdFJoqwCgiZDm Sv2cacmnM6Lld0cRRFo9vlo= =tFPO -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----