Inktomi, Adero and AOL Wednesday announced the formation of Content Bridge, a new alliance of technology and network service providers aimed at improving the speed and reliability of content delivery over the Internet.
The Content Bridge members will provide a unified platform for content delivery across all participating networks to raise the end-to-end performance of the Internet for content providers and end users, said David Peterschmidt, president and CEO of Inktomi, in a conference call with analysts.
"This transforms the Internet from a bit machine to a seamless content delivery platform," Peterschmidt said.
Under the terms of an agreement, Inktomi will provide the core network software technology for Content Bridge, which is scheduled for launch later this year. Network services provider Adero will take the role of ensuring that content is updated across all member networks and provide centralized billing and settlement services for cross-network transactions.
The software is already undergoing testing at AOL, which shortly will become the first ISP to deploy the technology, Peterschmidt said. Declining to commit to a fixed date for when AOL will roll out the service, Peterschmidt would only say that the implementation process itself is simple once AOL's internal validation processes have been completed.
Other initial participants in the Content Bridge alliance are Digital Island, Exodus Communications, Genuity, Mirror Image Internet, Madge.web and NetRail.
The Content Bridge initiative is a move in the right direction for providing two things the Internet to date has not been known for, namely the speed and the quality of service in content delivery, said Ellen Hancock, chairman and CEO of Exodus.
Although the alliance will level the playing field for basic content delivery services among the participating network operators, it will not take away the competitive advantages each network provider offers in terms of more advanced, value-added services, added Ruann Ernst, chairman and CEO of Digital Island.
More information about Content Bridge can be found at www.content-bridge.com/.
Inktomi, in Foster City, Calif., can be contacted at +1-650-653-2800 or at www.inktomi.com/. Adero, in Boston, is at +1-617-241-3600 or at www.adero.com/. AOL, in Dulles, Va., is at +1-703-448-8700 or at www.aol.com/.
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