– GlobalConnect and Eyevinn to validate scalable real-time streaming based on open standards

GlobalConnect, leading provider of fiber-based communication and data centers in northern Europe, will together with Eyevinn Technology, initiator of real-time video broadcast based on open standards, in a joint project validate the scalability of this concept and publish the results in a publicly available report.

There are situations where the delay from the broadcaster and the viewer must be as low as possible. And when it comes to requirements for delays under a second or basically real-time the current solutions based on open standards to distribute video over the Internet has fallen short.

This solution is based on WebRTC, a set of W3C protocols that all modern devices have native support for and used in many video conferencing solutions today. This enables a wide range of native device support on both the sender and receiving side. The scalability problem can be reduced as we in broadcast only have a one-to-many relationship and not a many-to-many relationship as we have in a conference scenario.

Protocol for ingest of video into this distribution solution is the draft IETF standard WebRTC HTTP Ingestion Protocol (WHIP) and the protocol for playback of video from this solution is the draft IETF standard WebRTC HTTP Egress Protocol (WHEP). This proof-of-concept will be based on open-source components to provide full transparency of the solution and allows others to replicate the experiment and validate the results.

“We deliver an established and proven pan Nordic CDN infrastructure serving the Nordic audience real time video. By adapting to these new open standards for real-time video broadcast we can provide the functionality and infrastructure that our customers need to solve challenging use cases where very low latency is required, for example in interactive experiences and betting”, says Johan Danckwardt, Head of CDN at GlobalConnect Carrier.

Earlier this year, Eyevinn Technology developed and presented a prototype of a WebRTC based solution based on open standards and identified a gap where a protocol was needed on the playback side. This gap was confirmed by the industry and in August a protocol for this missing part was introduced by the WISH working group.

“It will be very exciting to see if this concept can be used in a way that scales to large audiences and the economics behind it. To validate this in a real-life scenario we need to build this on an infrastructure with great connectivity and point-of-presence. And this is where our collaboration with GlobalConnect is critical to validate this concept”, says VP R&D Jonas Birmé at Eyevinn Technology.

About GlobalConnect Group GlobalConnect Group is one of the leading digital infrastructure and data communication providers in Northern Europe. The Group delivers end-to-end solutions across its own infrastructure consisting of 150,000 kilometers fiber network and 34,500 sqm data center space in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Finland. GlobalConnect Group employs approximately 1,700 people, has 30,000 B2B customers and connects more than 650,000 private households with a high-capacity fiber network. GlobalConnect Group is the result of 2019 and 2020 mergers between Broadnet, GlobalConnect and IP-Only. In the B2C segment, the group operates under the brands IP-Only, HomeNet and Onefiber, while operating as GlobalConnect in the B2B segment across all its markets. GlobalConnect Group is owned by global investment organization EQT, one of Europe’s largest infrastructure investors.

About Eyevinn Technology Eyevinn Technology is world leading independent experts in sustainable video streaming technology and initiator of real-time video broadcast based on open standards.