UK operators face a bandwidth headache due to the launch of movie streaming service Netflix in the country, the European head of optical networking firm Infinera claims.
Chris Champion, Infinera’s EMEA vice president, says UK carriers will have to raise their game to cope with the successful movie service, which has 25 million subscribers in the US and generates almost a third of peak downstream Web traffic.
“If Netflix replicates just a proportion of its US success in the UK, it will mean carriers have to raise the bar again,” he states.
While Champion notes UK operators have been successful in implementing 100Gbps networks, he says growing demand for video, mobile and cloud services means 500Gbps speeds will be needed in future. “Operators should see this as an opportunity to future proof their network,” he comments.
Netflix opened for business in the UK and Ireland on Jan 9, offering unlimited access to its portfolio of movies and TV programs for £5.99 (€7.24) per month (€6.99 in Ireland).