BT introduced a Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery technology that improves quality and reliability of live content for viewers while driving down costs for broadcasters and networks operators.
MAUD, which was developed by the Content Delivery Research team at BT’s Research Labs at Adastral Park, uses multicast to group single streams into one shared one. MAUD has a further significant advantage over 'ordinary' multicast streams, as its integration is made completely transparent to the player application. BT says MAUD technology uses up to 50% less bandwidth during peak events, reducing energy usage through the use of fewer caches. By freeing up internet capacity, it will help to deliver a higher quality of experience for both live and non-live content.
Howard Watson, Chief Security and Networks Officer at BT Group said: “MAUD is a major breakthrough in how we deliver content over the internet. Developed in our world leading labs at Adastral Park in Suffolk, MAUD could be a key solution to how we manage ever increasing traffic loads. By combining individual streams, MAUD delivers a more reliable, consistent picture, no matter whether customers are watching over Wi-Fi, fibre or mobile networks.”
BT said it is working with major broadcasters and platforms to employ MAUD technology to support live events coverage in 2024.
