Cutting Through the Static of Peak Demand

Broadpeak’s GEASCDN platform is slashing peak streaming bandwidth by half, proving that high-quality video doesn't have to cost the Earth

23 Apr 2026

Broadpeak, the French video delivery company, has completed the second phase of its Green Edge Adaptive Streaming project. This initiative, supported by the France 2030 investment program, seeks to reduce the environmental and infrastructure costs associated with high-volume video streaming.

Content delivery is shifting toward the network edge, the point closest to the end user. Traditional networks often struggle with peak demand during live events, such as major sports matches. To manage these spikes, operators typically over-provision servers, leading to significant energy waste during quieter periods.

Broadpeak’s platform addresses this by combining high-capacity servers with multicast adaptive bitrate delivery. Unlike standard unicast streaming, which sends a separate data stream to every individual viewer, multicast distributes a single stream to multiple recipients at once. This approach can reduce bandwidth consumption by up to 50 percent during peak events.
Economic implications are substantial. BT, a partner in the project’s deployment, has estimated that multicast-assisted delivery could result in network cost savings of up to one billion pounds over a ten-year period.

The system operates as a software service, allowing broadcasters to integrate the technology without changing their existing workflows. To encourage adoption, the company has introduced a revenue-sharing model for internet service providers. This move addresses the historical lack of financial incentive for network operators to host edge delivery tools.

For the global streaming industry, focus is now on the most energy-intensive segments of the market. Live broadcasts create the largest infrastructure strains. While previous efficiency gains focused on general server performance, this architecture targets the specific problem of simultaneous access.

Regulators and environmental groups are increasingly scrutinizing the carbon footprint of digital infrastructure. As streaming accounts for a growing share of global data traffic, the transition toward edge-based delivery represents a shift in how companies manage both operational costs and sustainability targets. Completion of this phase suggests that these architectural changes are moving toward wider commercial application.