Sky taps Nokia for CDN to deliver OTT TV and data services

Sky is tapping Nokia to provide its Velocix Content Delivery Network (CDN) to deliver high-speed video and data services for its UK customers.

Nokia said the deployment is currently serving Sky On Demand. However Sky and Nokia are jointly working to expand the Velocix solution to support Sky Go and Now TV services for live TV and video on demand.

Sky recently announced that it would launch the full line-up of its service in the UK over IP as well as satellite, with its other European markets to follow.

Nokia said that the deployment of the Velocix CDN allows Sky to temporarily cache content closer to customers in localised cloud data centres to reduce transportation costs and improve the customer experience.

Nokia is providing its Velocix as a managed service. The company said that the deployment would provide better visibility for traffic demands and flows, ensuring greater predictability of performance and network usage compared to its current CDN service.

Sky’s services have been migrated to the Velocix CDN. Traffic has been live in the network since the end of 2015.

According to Nokia, Sky can modify how a request for content from subscribers is treated depending on a user’s location or device, opening up personalisation opportunities as well as ways to improve traffic management on the network.

Mohamed Hammady, UK chief technology office at Sky said: “Nokia is a trusted partner of Sky. Using Nokia’s Velocix CDN, we have greater traffic visibility in the network, allowing us to regain control of managing the network capacity. Deploying the solution deep in the network also ensures we can manage delivery more effectively to improve performance and the customer experience. The introduction of Velocix CDN to support growth of our video on demand services was seamless.”

Paul Larbey, head of Nokia’s IP video business, said: “The Sky project represents a milestone for Nokia as it’s the first deployment for a nationwide broadcaster and builds on Nokia’s number one position in the service provider CDN market. It shows that our Velocix CDN – which delivers high-quality programming – aligns with the needs of broadcasters and content providers in addition to those of IPTV and cable operators. Our innovative IP video portfolio will help Sky manage traffic more cost-effectively and efficiently.”