iSky CDN Update

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sonyxperiageek

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#119458 1-Jun-2013 21:39

Oh great! iSky will be moving to a new CDN so there will be no more unmetered iSky because the new CDN "doesn't support unmetered connections.." More info: http://goo.gl/25Syl

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#829415 1-Jun-2013 21:40

I'm assuming the CDN will have servers in NZ.

Some ISPs may choose to leave it as "unmetered".

freitasm

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#829418 1-Jun-2013 21:45

myfullflavour: I'm assuming the CDN will have servers in NZ.

Some ISPs may choose to leave it as "unmetered".

FTA: "When this upgrade occurs, our Broadband Partners will no longer offer unmetered iSKY data plans. This means that iSKY usage will be counted as and be subject to your data plan."

sdavisnz

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#829425 1-Jun-2013 21:54

wonder if the quality will improve at all....... no talk about that on the sky website, but i hope it does.

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insane

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#829427 1-Jun-2013 21:56

freitasm:
myfullflavour: I'm assuming the CDN will have servers in NZ.

Some ISPs may choose to leave it as "unmetered".

FTA: "When this upgrade occurs, our Broadband Partners will no longer offer unmetered iSKY data plans. This means that iSKY usage will be counted as and be subject to your data plan."

But as usual any ISP can choose to zero rate such traffic if they so choose. Providing of course that their billing / traffic accounting systems can support this. I know of a few who could if they want.

And from the FAQ:

"Why can’t I have unmetered data?We have chosen a new CDN provider to improve the iSKY streaming experience. At present, our new CDN solution does not support unmetering. We know that unmetering is an important consideration for you and we will continue to work with internet service provider’s (ISP’s) to seek new benefits for iSKY users. It is possible that ISP’s will announce iSKY unmetering opportunites in the future and we will be sure to tell you about it here"

Hopefully this means they are going to use Akamai or Limelight and start streaming HD content.

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#829430 1-Jun-2013 21:59

Sure, they can. But they will have no incentive at the moment. Perhaps the new CDN is not offering peering at some points and that will cost the ISPs.

Also note that means future. Immediate result of this move is that "unmetering" goes away, not clear for how long.

sonyxperiageek

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#829447 1-Jun-2013 22:31

sdavisnz: wonder if the quality will improve at all....... no talk about that on the sky website, but i hope it does.

I'm watching a movie right now (Men In Black 3), and the video quality does look better, but I don't think it's Full HD...

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#829450 1-Jun-2013 22:43

I'm 'unmetered' on isky, tvnz, tv3, now and in the future.... Im on an uncapped plan :)

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myfullflavour

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#829453 1-Jun-2013 22:45

insane: But as usual any ISP can choose to zero rate such traffic if they so choose.

This is what I was getting at.

regs: I'm 'unmetered' on isky, tvnz, tv3, now and in the future.... Im on an uncapped plan :)

Same for our customers... Business as usual.

sonyxperiageek

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#829454 1-Jun-2013 22:52

And it's still measuring my iSky data as "Zero-rated data" on Slingshot right now... even though it's June the 1st.

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NonprayingMantis

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#829475 1-Jun-2013 23:26

if they are moving to Akamai, then ISPs probably cant unmeter iSky without unmetering the whole of Akamai at the same time - which they probably won't do because akamai holds so much stuff.

Its the same reason TVNZ OnDemand used to be unmetered with some ISPs, but now isn't. (and, I believe, quickflix)

wonder if the same will apply to Igloo, or if they use a different CDN to iSky

sonyxperiageek

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#829476 1-Jun-2013 23:28

Is Quickflix also unmetered now?

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#829484 2-Jun-2013 00:14

NonprayingMantis: if they are moving to Akamai, then ISPs probably cant unmeter iSky without unmetering the whole of Akamai at the same time - which they probably won't do because akamai holds so much stuff.

Its the same reason TVNZ OnDemand used to be unmetered with some ISPs, but now isn't. (and, I believe, quickflix)

wonder if the same will apply to Igloo, or if they use a different CDN to iSky

Again that just means the ISPs billing / traffic accounting system is not very versatile, or they have chosen to not want to give revenue away. The caches are there to get the content closer to the users, but also for the ISPs to not have to waste more international traffic on repeat downloads.

Just gives ISPs another opportunity to differentiate themselves in a very vanilla market.

NonprayingMantis

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#829491 2-Jun-2013 01:04

insane:
NonprayingMantis: if they are moving to Akamai, then ISPs probably cant unmeter iSky without unmetering the whole of Akamai at the same time - which they probably won't do because akamai holds so much stuff.

Its the same reason TVNZ OnDemand used to be unmetered with some ISPs, but now isn't. (and, I believe, quickflix)

wonder if the same will apply to Igloo, or if they use a different CDN to iSky

Again that just means the ISPs billing / traffic accounting system is not very versatile, or they have chosen to not want to give revenue away. The caches are there to get the content closer to the users, but also for the ISPs to not have to waste more international traffic on repeat downloads.

Just gives ISPs another opportunity to differentiate themselves in a very vanilla market.

several ISPs (orcon and Snap, at least) used to unmeter TVNZ ondemand. Now nobody does, as far as I can tell, ever since they moved to Akamai.

since iSky are now saying the same thing, i.e. that nobody will be unmetering them anymore, when previously it used to be VF, Orcon, Slingshot, Snap, Farmside, Whoosh, Xnet), stands to reason it is likely for the same reason.
Also seems likely that these ISPs would, if they could, continue unmetering. Since not a single one of them is going to, seems likely that the reason is not that they choose not to unmeter, but rather that they cannot unmeter without doing the whole of Akamai.

but really it all seems pretty academic to me. With the size of data caps now, unmetering seems pretty pointless as a way of differentiating, especially given how little good content there actually is on iSky anyway, not to mention it goes against net neutrality.

NonprayingMantis

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#829492 2-Jun-2013 01:05

sonyxperiageek: And it's still measuring my iSky data as "Zero-rated data" on Slingshot right now... even though it's June the 1st.

it says during June, not on 1st June

"During June 2013, there will no longer be unmetered data plans for iSKY viewing with our Broadband Partners."

NonprayingMantis

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#829495 2-Jun-2013 01:16

I wonder whether ISPs who previously promoted iSky unmetering will now be required to notify every single customer that this will no longer be the case, since it is potentially was a major reason for somebody choosing them as an ISP. That could prove pretty expensive, both in terms of costs of taking phone calls from customers but also the churn they might get. Wonder if Sky would be compensating them for this (probably not)

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