BT Group has unveiled Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery (MAUD), a new IP Transmission technology designed to cater to the demands of live content delivery over the Internet. The aim is to enhance reliability, prioritise quality, and create a sustainable approach to Internet content delivery. In an official release, BT Group said MAUD technology utilises 'multicast' to group individual streams into a shared one, unlike traditional 'unicast' delivery.
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Seamless Integration
Furthermore, unlike ordinary multicast streams, MAUD seamlessly integrates with player applications, eliminating the need for content service providers to modify their customer apps to utilise this technology, thus saving time and costs.
Eco-Friendly Content Delivery
Major broadcasters, including the BBC, are set to evaluate and potentially trial MAUD technology for various live content scenarios. The technology, by eliminating the need to select and serve millions of individual streams to viewers, is reported to offer enhanced efficiency in content delivery, resulting in reduced environmental impact and overall costs. During peak events, MAUD reportedly uses up to 50 percent less bandwidth, contributing to energy savings through fewer caches.
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."
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According to the official statement, BT Group's research revealed that despite the popularity of on-demand services, 90 percent of the UK public still consumes live content, primarily news and sports, via television. Viewers prioritise picture quality and reliability over interactive features.
Evaluation by Major Broadcasters
"The goal was to create a solution for efficient live streaming that was sensitive to the needs of the various organisations in the content delivery path. The MAUD solution was presented to broadcasters at the International Broadcasting Conference in Amsterdam earlier this year," said BT Group.
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BT Group said it is working with major broadcasters and platforms, to develop and deploy new Multicast Assisted Unicast Delivery (MAUD) technology to support live events coverage in 2024.
