How Blockcast Works
Blockcast uses multicast technology to solve the inefficiencies of traditional content delivery networks, while empowering communities to extend network coverage and improve internet performance.
Traditional multicast faces several barriers to widespread adoption, but Blockcast overcomes these challenges through a flexible, community-driven model that expands multicast coverage and integrates easily with existing infrastructure.
Unicast to Multicast Adaption
HTTP is a unicast protocol and thus it is not possible for existing applications to leverage multicast directly. Multicast Adaptive HTTP Proxy (MAHP) is a breakthrough proxy that enables unmodified streaming media, gaming, and software applications to group individual streams together over the network core and fan out back to unicast on personal or public CDN nodes for consumption by player applications on end-user devices.
As a result, millions of viewers can be served with a single stream, improving content delivery efficiency by orders of magnitude.
Bridging Multicast Gaps
Multicast is traditionally limited by “islands” of connectivity, where not all networks support multicast routing. Blockcast bridges these gaps by allowing content to flow between multicast-enabled areas and expanding service coverage through RELAY nodes.
This approach removes the need for complete multicast support across every hop of the network, ensuring users can still benefit from multicast even in areas where infrastructure isn’t fully capable.
We're Building Community-Driven Infrastructure
Blockcast relies on a community-driven model where users, ISPs, and content creators participate in assembling multicast coverage.
By participating, individuals earn rewards for their contributions, while improving network bandwidth efficiency and service quality. With this model, users play an active role in optimizing content delivery in their communities. Here's how they fit together:
Content Creators: Distribute high-bandwidth content at lower costs.
ISPs: Reduce traffic loads during peak times, improving service quality for users.
Users: Help expand the network and earn rewards by running Blockcast receiver software for their own use, or hosting a RELAY node to improve streaming quality in their neighborhoods.
By addressing the limitations of traditional multicast, Blockcast creates a more efficient and scalable internet, ready to handle increasing bandwidth needs without sacrificing performance or quality.
Last updated
