NewTeeVee Live host Om Malik moderated a self-described “geeky” roundtable to address what he sees as one of the biggest questions in the online video market: What is the implication on network infrastructure?
The panelists, execs from Cisco, Akamai, Level 3, Verizon and Maven Networks, generally agreed that video is pushing the envelope. Though they all seemed confident in the industry’s ability to rise to the challenge.
Grant van Rooyen of backbone provider Level 3, in particular, seemed more than happy to make upgrades to the network to support broadband video, HD and whatever else might come next. His company has already earmarked in excess of $600 million in network upgrades this year alone.
So, while it’s not the first time that Malik has pondered whether or not the back-end infrastructure is up to the task of supporting continued online innovation on the Web, today’s panelists at least think the Net can take it.
[Ed. Network infrastructure vendors may be confident of the technology’s ability to support Internet TV, but some ISPs are telling a different story.]