Re: Multicast on 21CN

dennis@home wrote:
"DAB sounds worse than FM" <dab.is@dead> wrote in message
news:XwiEj.4323$Ge4.580@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Stuart Clark wrote:
DAB sounds worse than FM wrote:

Yep. From the way it's been described below, it looks like it's
going to be done "properly", so that the ISPs would stand to save
bandwidth: http://www.samknows.com/broadband/

"The afternoon was wrapped up with a proof of concept demonstration
of video content distribution in the 21CN network. Using Assured
Rate QoS, BT showed how content could be distributed from the core,
from one of their 20 aggregation points or from the MSANs
themselves (which will be present in all exchanges in the UK).
Distribution at this level is made possible by using multicast,
which is not available on the current BT IPStream product range."

If so, the only outstanding thing is the pricing to the ISPs, and
you can bypass BT being involved altogether on unbundled exchanges,
so hopefully they won't price it too high.


It all depends how BT decide to change the pricing of IPStream once
21CN is widespread (or introduce a new product). From their point of
view just lowering the cost to the ISP isn't going to happen, unless
there is some other benefit - BT aren't going to just agree to cut
out a load of revenue for no reason.


Does Ofcom ever step in to help the ISPs? My experience of Ofcom from
following the goings on on DAB is that they're the biggest bunch of
do-absolutely-nothing arseholes it's possible to imagine, and from
what I've been reading it seems that BT screws everyone in sight and
gets away with it - and then BT-owned PlusNet writes a few
tearjerkers about how bad the iPlayer is. Although admittedly I
don't know a great deal about the situation as a whole.


Of course they do.
You probably misunderstand what their job is.. its not to help the
consumer in anyway..


If you read their remit, it contains references to having the interests of
"citizens/consumers" at heart and similar bull***.


its to make sure BT don't reduce prices. That's
why BT have to submit all price reductions for approval.

Why are the ISPs and BT moaning about a few Mbps of traffic when
Japan and Korea are migrating en masse to FTTH? How does their
network support the traffic when we're limited to puny bit rates and
if we want anything more the world will end?

Just because the subscriber gets 100M doesn't mean they get 100M when
they use it. What is the contention ratio and where is it?


No idea. But is it likely to be as bad as we get? I doubt it, somehow.


Competition with other LLU providers might help (Virgin enabling
multicast over their cable network isn't competition),


Surely Virgin is competition for BT Broadband though?

Only in the small area you can get it, and cable is technically
lacking ATM.. You have a contended access network as well as a
contended core to worry about. They have plenty of bandwidth though..
if they turn off TV anyway.



but it is a bit
chicken & egg at the moment. Very few networks enable multicast due
to the cost/lack of savings & there are very few multicast streams
that the general public really care about because nobody can view
them. The BBC carrot approach may help (the streams over multicast are
better quality than the unicast ones),


The BBC and ITV should be launching their TV channels as well:

http://support.bbc.co.uk/multicast/streams.html

Let it arrive.. I will cancel my TV license if it happens.


And I'll grass you up to the TV Licensing people. ;-)


but will just mean more ISPs
enable it on their core networks, not that it will work all the way
down to the end user.


I don't get you. Why would they enable it on their own networks but
not allow people to receive it?

Because you are assuming the broadband subscriber is the target.


Absolutely I think the broadband subscriber is the ultimate target - without
them it's pointless, and it's all about what multicast allows, which is live
broadcast streams via the net.


--
Steve - www.digitalradiotech.co.uk - Digital Radio News & Info

The adoption of DAB was the most incompetent technical
decision ever made in the history of UK broadcasting:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/incompetent_adoption_of_dab.htm


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