Demonstrated at this weeks National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Conference in Las Vegas the group claims this as a first-of-its-kind broadcast that uses a hybrid delivery network.

Broadcast from Santa Monica Beach, California, and delivered over satellite and terrestrial Internet connections, the live streams can eb seen in Akamai's booth at NAB.

This live streaming from Santa Monica showed for the first time that video streams can be delivered seamlessly from satellite to terrestrial networks with real-time decision and performance monitoring.

Using Akamai's FreeFlow Streaming service, the 1 Megabit/second streams were delivered with unmatched quality across Akamai's globally distributed network.

Each stream was captured and encoded by Sonic Foundry Media Services and then sent to an entry point in Akamai's network.

Once at an entry point, Akamai's proprietary SteadyStream technology split the signal into multiple streams and sent them across the Akamai network by dynamically determining the optimal route using any combination of both (or either) the terrestrial Internet and the CyberStar satellites.

Akamai'advanced algorithms calculate the optimal route as often as necessary to deliver the cleanest stream possible. Akamai's SteadyStream technology can enable any number of satellites to be used simultaneously.

The streams are recombined into their original high-quality format at an Akamai server at the edge of the Internet. Akamai's EdgeAdvantage(TM) technology then maps each Web viewer to the optimal server for that broadcast content.

Akamai intends to use this world-class streaming technology to support all major formats. Akamai has previously announced support for Apple QuickTime, Microsoft Windows Media Technologies, and RealNetworks RealSystem G2. Akamai's hybrid satellite and terrestrial Internet delivery network also supports other multimedia applications such as software downloads.

CyberStar, a Loral company, provided satellites for transporting the streams. CyberStar's global IP multicast network uses the latest Frame Relay Asynchronous Transfer mode (ATM) and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) technologies to provide traditional network and Internet applications and support IP multicast communications services.

The network spans the earth, with strategically positioned gateway teleports on both coasts of the United States and in Europe, and access through them to Loral Global Alliance and other satellites reaching the Americas, Europe and Asia.

CyberStar's services and technologies facilitate the distribution of streaming media content to its global ISP customer base located on four continents and in 34 countries, enables TV-quality video streaming to be sent directly to desktops, and enhances performance by bypassing congested points on the Internet.

"The only technology that allows for true broadband streaming, at 1 Megabit/second or higher, is a hybrid implementation of terrestrial and satellite delivery,'' said Dan Fraisl, vice president and general manager of streaming at Akamai.

"Any delivery infrastructure that relies solely on satellites or solely on terrestrial connectivity will fall short. Our work with best-of-breed companies like CyberStar and Sonic Foundry has enabled Akamai to pioneer this form of streaming media delivery," added Fraisl.