Tata Communications launching 100G backbone to meet growing bandwidth demands

Tata Communications will launch a 100G media backbone to meet the growing bandwidth demands of the industry.

The backbone - delivered in collaboration with Net Insight - will enable broadcasters, sports organisations, OTT companies and eSports businesses to offer their audiences worldwide more immersive viewing and gaming experiences and transform how they operate through full remote production.

The new backbone will help accelerate industry adoption of ultra-high definition (UHD) 4K video, which requires 12Gbps of bandwidth when uncompressed – four times more than HD video. With 100G, broadcasters and eSports companies, for example, are able to offer viewers and gamers the ultra-immersive 4K viewing experiences they crave without having to worry about running out of bandwidth.

Tata Communications’ 100G backbone will also help overcome the technical complexities of eSports, with each event involving multiple cameras, cutaways, real-time reactions, commentary and intensive editing. As the global audience of eSports is expected to reach 645 million by 2022, the bandwidth boost of 100G will bring eSports fans worldwide seamless and highly engaging gaming experiences.

At major sports events, the new infrastructure will have the capacity to support up to 50 raw video feeds and the delivery of unilateral, localised feeds by different rightsholders for their regions. The combination of the 100G backbone and workflows on Tata Communications’ media ecosystem will help more and more broadcasters and rightsholders switch to full remote production to bring live events to audiences across the globe, boosting efficiencies and generating cost savings. The 100G capacity lowers the barriers for global sports organisations to move from satellite-based content distribution to fibre across entire continents too.

The new backbone, being built using Net Insight’s next-generation WAN transport platform Nimbra 1060, will underpin Tata Communications’ global end-to-end managed Video Connect network.

“We’re proud to launch this game-changing 100G backbone, and excited about the new opportunities that the powerful combination of Tata Communications and Net Insight’s capabilities offer to broadcasters, sports organisations, OTT players and eSports businesses,” said Dhaval Ponda, Associate Vice President, Media and Entertainment, Tata Communications. “Viewers, sports fans and gamers increasingly expect immersive, high-quality content - delivered live from the other side of the world or on demand - on a range of different media platforms. This 100G backbone and our managed video services will help our customers innovate with agility and become more competitive.”

Net Insight’s Nimbra 1060 is a new terabit WAN transport platform that enables the delivery of IP-based media services across global media networks without the complex traffic engineering typically associated with high-quality media transport. Designed for all-IP services and all-IP networks, it guarantees quality for the most demanding live media events while providing agility through automated real-time provisioning.

“The fact that Tata Communications is delivering its new global 100G backbone using the Nimbra platform is yet another testament to the scalable and innovative nature of our technology,” said Ulrik Rohne, Vice President, Media Networks, Net Insight. “The merger of media and IT is putting increased pressure on cost-efficiency and workflow automation in media networks. The Nimbra platform is designed to meet these new demands and offer unparalleled flexibility and excel in the highest quality of service and lowest total cost of ownership.”