
The way content is consumed is changing, which means delivery infrastructures are being put under more and more pressure. BT's broadband engineering director Ian Parr has a way to relieve the burden on our beleaguered networks
By Kevin Emmott
Published: February 12, 2025 Updated: February 13, 2025
The way content is consumed is changing, which means delivery infrastructures are being put under more and more pressure. BT's broadband engineering director Ian Parr has a way to relieve the burden on our beleaguered networks
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
According to 2024's State of MediaTech Report from the IABM, more people in the US are streaming their content than watching it on television. Lots more, in fact, and it's been going that way for a while with research from EMarketer suggesting that the number of people streaming live sports eclipsed the number watching on traditional broadcast television back in 2023.
Ian Parr, broadband engineering director at BT That gulf is only going to get bigger. The problem is, scaling the network to support these viewing peaks is both inefficient and expensive, especially when it comes to live events. Event-based broadcasting is where the big spikes in traffic are generated, and as more viewers migrate to IP-based consumption and more sporting events are picked up by companies like Amazon and Netflix who only operate over IP, those peaks are going to get bigger and more frequent and create more problems for viewers.
Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery For the last four years, BT's broadband engineering director Ian Parr has been working on a way to address these challenges. Parr is the overall sponsor for BT's MAUD (Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery) project, a smart technology that more efficiently manages IP content across the entire distribution chain.
In collaboration with development partner Broadpeak, MAUD has now gone from a concept to practical implementation. It is currently in a test phase with more than 1,000 BT users and is on track to roll out to a significantly larger portion of BT's broadband consumer base.
MAUD's USP is its ability to seamlessly integrate with existing Content Service Providers (CSPs) like the BBC, and optimise the delivery of unicast content streams by translating them into multicast for more efficient distribution. And it's not a moment too soon.
Making it easy Television is already migrating to IP with a plethora of over-the-top services like Amazon, Apple, Disney and Netflix , says Parr, and so we're facing a significant increase in broadcast traffic on our network in the future. Our approach is to take a unicast content stream direct from a Content Delivery Network (CDN), convert it to multicast for more efficient transport across that network, and then convert it back to unicast in the home so it can be seamlessly played out.
MAUD solves two key challenges with Multicast ABR (mABR). Firstly, it facilitates seamless integration with CSP applications, allowing them to transition to a multicast stream without having to modify their application; this makes it very easy for them to adopt the technology. At the other end of the chain, MAUD preserves the reporting and analytics offered by CDNs to ensure the CSPs still receive important metrics such as concurrent streams and data transfer amounts.
MAUD makes it as easy as possible for content providers to take advantage of this technology, he adds.
The workflow Making use of multicast distribution throughout BT's network, MAUD eliminates the need for unicast streams entirely and deploys an edge proxy within BT broadband routers that converts the stream back to unicast in the home. This bit of code, included as standard in BT's latest generation of hubs, enables consumers to view content on whatever viewing platform they choose, whether it is a television, phone, PC, or tablet.
By adopting a multicast delivery of one stream per channel rather than one stream per viewer, the system minimises network strain which can overwhelm traditional infrastructures.
MAUD's essence is really in that conversion between unicast to multicast, and from multicast back to unicast again in the home, and doing it seamlessly from both perspectives, says Parr. This kind of distribution workflow benefits everyone across the entire distribution chain; the primary benefit for BT is continuing to provide a quality experience of live linear TV content on our network, and it helps to avoid some of the cost of expanding the network at peak delivery times.
But there are subsequent benefits to CDN providers as well, who require less investment in our network and can pass on those cost reductions to the content service providers themselves, he continues.
And overarching all of that, its smaller network footprint and caching infrastructure means a lower carbon footprint for content delivery.
Working together In Q4 2024 the MAUD project entered its critical testing phase, not only trialling with end-users to ensure real-world resilience but encouraging more engagement with content partners to further develop and optimise the service as it scales.
Currently, all BT's latest generation of home broadband routers are able to use MAUD, but rolling out at a rate of about two million routers every year means that the company anticipates that every household on EE, BT or Plusnet-branded broadband routers will be MAUD enabled within a few years. BT aims to start the process of onboarding third-party content providers in 2025, but for Parr that's just the tip of the iceberg.
We've got a number of long-term propositions to extend MAUD beyond the BT network, he says. Broadpeak is empowered to market and license the MAUD technology into its current product sets around the world
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
29/06/2025
Handpan-inspired instrument announced
Roland have announced the launch of the Mood Pan, a unique electronic hand percussion instrument that has been designe...
28/06/2025
Johannesburg, 27 June 2025 - As the nation commemorates Youth Month
2025, the N...
28/06/2025
WASHINGTON In a press conference following the Federal Communications Commission's May Open Meeting, Chair Brendan Carr promised the agency would move rapid...
28/06/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. Charter Communications has awarded $1.1 million in Spectrum Digital Education grants to 55 nonprofit organizations that work to expand access to...
28/06/2025
LAKE FOREST, Calif. June 19, 2025
What's New:
Sonnet Technologies today announced the certification of its Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock as an Engin...
28/06/2025
MASV (massive.io), the fastest and most reliable large file transfer platform for media professionals, has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: Me...
28/06/2025
Grass Valley today announced that TV SKYLINE GmbH, one of Europe's top mobile production providers, has expanded its camera inventory with 30 LDX 135 UHD/HD...
28/06/2025
AgileTV, a European leader in TV and video technology solutions, signed an agreement with Austrian telco LIWEST to develop and implement its TV service in Austr...
28/06/2025
Music theory plug-in updated
Three months on from the release of the latest version of their renowned music theory plug in, Scaler Music have launched an up...
28/06/2025
The 48th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton June 27, 2025
0 Comments
Filmmaker Cameron Mackey relied on Bl...
28/06/2025
Social, Streaming Don't Compete, They Compliment
Andy Marken June 27, 2025
0 Comments
I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spir...
28/06/2025
Blackmagic Design Captures Filipino Rock Band Drama Singtala
Brie Clayton June 27, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K and DaVinci Resolve St...
28/06/2025
Enhance Videos Faster with Aiarty Video Enhancer - Offline, Sharp, and Natural
Brie Clayton June 27, 2025
0 Comments
If you've used AI video tools...
27/06/2025
By Jessica Herndon
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...
27/06/2025
K-Pop remains one of the biggest genres globally, and many fans just can't get enough of it. That's why Spotify has launched a new series of K-Pop perf...
27/06/2025
In our latest blog post, Rafael Rivera highlights the rising threat of online scams, and the important role cybersecurity plays in protecting families across ge...
27/06/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has set deadlines for comments to a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to codify certain foreign ownership re...
27/06/2025
WASHINGTON In a press conference following the Federal Communications Commission's May Open Meeting, Chair Brendan Carr promised the agency would move rapid...
27/06/2025
From grounded realism to bending, impossible geometries
Klevgrand have announced the release of a new algorithmic reverb plug-in which they say deconstruct...
27/06/2025
Learn to use REW for room analysis
Acoustic treatment is one of the most important factors in any studio, and with the extensive range of products available...
27/06/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. The HDMI Forum has released Version 2.2. of the HDMI Specification with 96Gbps bandwidth and next-gen HDMI Fixed Rate Link technology to provid...
27/06/2025
MONTREAL Grass Valley has announced that TV Skyline GmbH, one of Europe's top mobile production providers, has expanded its camera inventory with the acquis...
27/06/2025
NEW YORK & CHICAGO FuboTV Inc. and Weigel Broadcasting Co. have announced a multi-year agreement for distribution of seven networks including MeTV, H&I, Movies!...
27/06/2025
NEW YORK A national survey of U.S. consumers shows 66% of us watch TV all or most of the time and also multitask while doing it....
27/06/2025
MIAMI Sunbeam Television has reached a multiyear agreement with Findal Media & Technology Group to broadcast the new ABC Miami beginning Aug. 4....
27/06/2025
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. AccuWeather has announced a deal with Perplexity, a AI-powered search and answer engine, that will bring AccuWeathers weather data and severe...
27/06/2025
WASHINGTON After being sworn in on June 23 as the Federal Communications Commission's newest Commissioner, Olivia Trusty has hit the ground running with the...
27/06/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commissions has set deadlines for comments to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to codify certain foreign ownership r...
27/06/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP media probing, monitoring, visualization, and analytics, has announced a new collaboration with Gencom Techno...
27/06/2025
Pixel Power (A Rohde & Schwarz Company) has recently been working with France T l visions, the French national public TV broadcaster, on a number of projects fo...
27/06/2025
DPA Microphones' U.S. team, a partner of Wisycom SRL, is hosting a free webinar focused on Wisycom's innovative RF distribution technology for wireless ...
27/06/2025
Avid today announced the release and immediate availability of its fully integrated, industry-leading news platform, uniting MediaCentral and Wolftech News in...
27/06/2025
PlayBox Neo is only half way through the year and has already experienced sustained demand for the company's wide range of smart media solutions, reporting ...
27/06/2025
Second edition of parallel clipper plug-in announced
Soundtheory have announced the launch of Kraftur Focus, a new edition of their parallel clipper plug-in...
27/06/2025
27 06 2025 - Media release Game, set, action! Screen Australia and ABC announce new mini-series Goolagong
Marton Csokas and Lila McGuire of Goolagong. Image c...
27/06/2025
How Two Berklee Alumni Landed Songs in the Oscar-Winning Film Anora Joseph Capalbo BM '12 and Lyusi Simon BM '16 share how their collaboration spanned...
27/06/2025
How smarter compression is creating a sustainable future By Michael Burns
Monday, June 23, 2025 - 14:13
Print This Story
Live sport is especially vulnerab...
27/06/2025
Behind the Mic: FOX Sports Ratchets Up UEFA Women's EURO 2025 With Top-Class...
27/06/2025
RTL Group To Acquire Sky Deutschland By George Bevir, Editorial Director, SVG Europe
Friday, June 27, 2025 - 8:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
27/06/2025
Frictionless, At Scale: The Current State of Live Video Streaming Techology Leaders from Bitmovin, Comcast Technology Solutions, Harmonic, IMAX, and Phenix brea...
27/06/2025
Marquee Sports Network's Nick Steger on Meeting the Moment of the Contending...
27/06/2025
NHL Draft 2025: The League Is Primed for First Decentralized Draft in Non-Pandem...
27/06/2025
Friday 27 June 2025
Combination of RTL Deutschland and Sky Deutschland (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) to create a unique proposition in entertainment, sports ...
27/06/2025
Back to All News
Let the Final Games Begin With Squid Game' Season 3 Complete Coverage Guide
Entertainment
27 June 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboar...
27/06/2025
Back to All News
Squid Game: Unleashed: Celebrate the Epic Series Finale With N...
26/06/2025
Louis Greatorex, Amrou Al-Kadhi and Bilal Hasana. (Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Veronika Lee Claghorn
The world premiere of Amr...
26/06/2025
Buckle up for Great Australian Road Trips launching 31 July on SBS and SBS On De...