Streaming media companies will be facing a business "bloodbath" if they fail to integrate technology that accurately translates broadband use into manageably chargeable chunks, according to a multicast platform developer.

Carl Fenger, marketing manager at The Fantastic Corporation, said inadequacies in the internet infrastructure mean that companies aiming to take advantage of vastly increased bandwidth delivered by broadband technologies will go to the wall unless they address the problem.

"There is no inherent revenue-tracking mechanism in the internet. That's why many businesses aren't making the money they could," said Fenger.

Telecoms managers should not allow themselves to be misled in the rush to deploy streaming media technology, he added. "There's so much hype about broadband - it's a bloodbath out there."

He urged delegates at TMA2000 to learn the harsh lessons of the many recent dotcom failures, adding that any technology deployment must be underpinned by a sound business plan.

"Dotcoms have been hit really hard. Many of these companies were set up in laboratory conditions, then unleashed on the real business world. Of course, many of them failed," he said.

Fenger added that before businesses take the broadband message to their customers, they have to be upfront about the current shortcomings and realistic development times.

"Streaming media is technically and financially not viable - many streaming media ebusinesses will be out of business in a year's time. Broadband quality, particularly in video, must be improved," he said.

"Customers will demand the same quality they see on their televisions. Audio quality is almost up to scratch, but it still usually needs to be downloaded first."

The Fantastic Corporation says it has developed a platform that ensures that all links in the broadband delivery chain profit from new fat pipes, from content providers and aggregators to ISPs.

Its Channel Management Center controls how multimedia packages traverse broadband networks, and carves usage into billable chunks on an individual user basis.

It uses the datagram protocol (UDP), in conjunction with IP, which enables managers distinguish user requests without using their IP address.

First published in Network News

See also:

Policy-based networks prevent data standstill

Organisations wanting to stop their networks grinding to a halt due to high demand should consider a policy-based strategy.  15 Nov 2000

BT selects SDSL trial participants

BT has chosen 25 companies to trial symmetric digital subscriber line technology, a low-cost alternative to leased lines.  17 Oct 2000

Orange pulls out of radio spectrum auction

UK mobile operator Orange has pulled out of the government's auction for fixed radio spectrum licences, which has already been delayed until further notice.  16 Oct 2000

NTL plans ADSL for SMEs, not consumers

NTL is conducting trials of an ADSL service ahead of a planned 2 February rollout of services aimed at small to medium-sized businesses.  10 Oct 2000

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!