ALU to Make Velocix CDN Elastic Next Year

Alcatel-Lucent announced it is set to "boost the performance of its cloud-based IP video storage and content delivery technologies with the introduction of its enhanced Cloud DVR platform and the new Elastic Content Delivery Network. This will allow service providers to manage network capacity more dynamically as they deal with ever-growing customer demand.

.. Alcatel-Lucent’s Velocix content delivery network (CDN) technologies allow service providers to optimize video content for delivery on any device. With functionality moved to the cloud, the Elastic CDN allows resources to be allocated more flexibly, when and where they are needed. 

During a major sporting event or incident, the provider can dynamically provision virtualized machines in minutes rather than weeks or months and cache popular content closer to users to better manage video traffic over the networks. Once demand has slowed, extra capacity can be released and used on other applications or services. Elastic CDN will be made commercially available in 2016.

See "Alcatel-Lucent enhances delivery of video content with introduction of Elastic content delivery network and cloud-based DVR storage" - here.

CDN Deployments [352]: Wind [Italy] Selected ALU's Velocix (Joins Telus, Oi and TWC)

Alcatel-Lucent announced it is to "..provide Italy’s Wind Telecomunicazioni with content delivery network technology to support the launch of new video and TV services for its fixed and mobile subscribers. The provision of Alcatel-Lucent’s Velocix Content Delivery Network platform will enable Wind’s customers to manage video traffic on its network, providing an optimized experience for customers regardless of the device they use to access content". 

".. Alcatel-Lucent will deliver its Velocix 7810 Digital Media Delivery Platform, the market leading on-net Content Delivery Network system, used by some of the largest operators in the world, including Telus, Oi and Time Warner Cable, among others"

Related post - "Who is Using ALU's Velocix Solution?" - here.

Wind had 21.6M subscribers at the end of 2014. 

See "Alcatel-Lucent content delivery network technology selected by Wind to support its launch of premium video and TV services in Italy" - here.

Telenor Manages OTT Video Traffic With: ALU, Opera/SkyFire, ConteXtream and Velocix

Alcatel-Lucent and TelenorGroup have "signed a three-year global frame agreement that will give customers fast, buffering-free mobile video and improve overall Internet service quality. The agreement will enable the deployment of mobile Internet optimization for Telenor’s 2G, 3G and 4G networks in Europe and Asia. Alcatel-Lucent will help Telenor address the challenges caused by mobile users accessing ‘over the top’ (OTT) video from sites like YouTube or Netflix"

"Telenor will deploy technology that automatically manages the delivery of Internet traffic over a mobile network, optimizing the experience for customers watching video and accessing web content while ensuring a surge in demand doesn’t affect those using the network for other activities.

The mobile Internet optimization solution includes: Opera’s  SkyfireRocket Controller and Optimizer [see Opera Buys Skyfire for (up to) $155M" - here] , ConteXtream’s [here, here] Session Control to manage end-to-end sessions across the network, automatically directing video traffic to Skyfire based on rules or policies decided on by the operator, Velocix 7810 Transparent Caching [here] and  9900 Wireless Network Guardian".

 

See "Telenor Group selects Alcatel-Lucent to enhance mobile Internet experience in 11 countries" - here.

SwiftServe - New Transparent Cache Player/CDN

 
A new caching-CDN-filtering vendor, SwiftServe, was officially launched - "..Founded as a joint-venture by a team of serial technology entrepreneurs from Singapore and the UK, SwiftServe is focusing initially on transparent caching and content delivery network (CDN) technology, enabling content publishers and network service providers to offer a faster, safer and better multimedia experience to consumers and enterprises. SwiftServe has already established a significant foothold in South-East Asia, with customers such as Singtel, Starhub, True Corporation and Singapore Airlines (see unnamed case studies - here, here), and is working with partners in other regions".

SwiftServe offers solutions for transparent caching, content filtering, licensed CDN, web acceleration, video streaming and file-download optimization.  

The above mentioned carriers  are already using a number of traffic optimization technologies (not necessarily for the same network): "StarHub [Singapore] Selected Mobixell" - here, "Does True Internet [Thailand] Use Oversi Just to Improve Internet Video QoE?" - here and "True Internet [Thailand] Uses Bluecoat to Reduce Costs and Improve QoE for Web and Video" - here.

SwiftServe is a joint venture joint-venture by the founders of Versio4 and Conversant. Versio4's Co-Founder, Adam Twiss (pictured), was also the founder of CacheLogic, later to become Velocix and acquired by Alcatel-Lucent. See "Carrier CDN Deployments [145]: Who is Using ALU's Velocix Solution?" - here and "[Heavy Reading]: Mobile Caching - 'part of larger traffic management solutions'" - here.

See "SwiftServe - New Technology Company Makes Multimedia Content Delivery Faster, Safer and Better" - here.

[Heavy Reading]: Mobile Caching - "part of larger traffic management solutions"

A new report by Aditya Kishore (pictured, see also "LTE will enable pushing cache into the base stations" - here), Senior Analyst, Heavy Reading looks at mobile data growth and caching solutions. 

  

"In a sense, the mobile caching space is not a separate market as much as it is an extension of other, adjacent markets. Caching is unlikely to be deployed on a mobile network in isolation; we anticipate most solutions will be integrated, partnered or part of larger traffic management solutions. Mobile optimization, network infrastructure, policy and RAN intelligence-type capabilities will all be leveraged alongside caching to better manage network traffic. This is evidenced by the types of vendors that are targeting this market".

"Broadly speaking, mobile caching vendors can be categorized into four groups, based on their history and the types of solutions they offer. Individual vendors within the same grouping have similar objectives, strategies and opinions. Unsurprisingly, they also demonstrate many similar strengths and weaknesses, though they do have individual attributes".

Posts related to companies mentioned in the table below, and their cache solutions: PeerApp, Qwilt, Saguna, Bytemobile, Mobixell, Vantrix, Velocix, BlueCoat, Verivue, Huawei,   

See "Crossing the Gi: Will Edge Caching Be the Key to Managing Mobile Traffic?" - here.

Carrier CDN Deployments [145]: Who is Using ALU's Velocix Solution?

 
Alcatel-Lucent presents in a recent post a number of carrier CDN deployments of its Velocix product (see also "Alcatel-Lucent Adds Bluecoat's Over-the-Top Caching to its Velocix CDN Solution" - here): 

• Verizon (US) uses our Velocix CDN to allow their FiOS TV subscribers to watch Starz, HBO, and high-definition EPIX content online, access Flex View movies-on-demand on their PCs, mobiles and tablets, watch linear FiOS TV channels on their Xbox 360, and enjoy the NFL RedZone channel on their iPads.
   
• Orcon (New Zealand) deployed our Velocix CDN to deliver the SKY online TV service “iSKY.” With iSKY, subscribers have access to an extensive library of content on their PCs - including movies, sports highlights and free catch-up viewing from a wide variety of channels (see a previous post - here).
    
• Three large cable MSOs in the US enable their subscribers to watch high-definition TV on their iPads inside the home over WiFi using our Velocix CDN. The deployments feature market-leading, per-session encryption to provide security similar to that of a set-top box.

See "Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): A Winning Strategy for Pay-TV Operators" - here.

See also "TalkTalk [UK] Uses Velocix (Alcatel-Lucent) for Content Delivery" - here.