Peer-to-peer streaming: Lowering barrier to entry in IPTV

IP multicast is considered a core requirement for IPTV network architecture. In this paper, we argue that challenges associated with deploying and operating IP multicast networks is one of the reasons why smaller or medium-size service providers cannot offer IPTV services. We explore peer-to-peer streaming as an alternative to IP multicast and argue that for congested urban areas it may be a superior choice to IP multicast-based network. We also share some initial results that suggest that peer-to-peer streaming can provide performance comparable to IP multicast.