British hosting will raise the bar

By Rawlson O'Neil king, theWHIR.com

June 14, 2001 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- The privatization of public broadcasting in the United Kingdom has ironically resulted in more choice for consumers of complex hosting services. With the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) shedding public ownership in production and distribution of content, hosting consumers can now obtain Internet solutions from an organization that was once notorious for circumscribing choice to only two television channels.

With the advent of BBC Technology Ltd. (bbctechnology.com), corporate customers can now receive state-of-the-art digital media services such as Internet broadcasting and multimedia services. Indeed, the new private division now specializes in streaming video and other high-quality, content delivery services.

The emergence of the new company is the result of successive Conservative and Labour governments whose intent was to entirely reshape the face of broadcasting in Britain.

These governments, beset by a fiscal environment that encouraged debt reduction and reduced state spending, encouraged the world's largest and best-known public broadcaster to cut costs and raise revenue to supplement government levies.

In effect, the BBC lost its Fordist mode of organization, which saw every level of production fall under its managerial rubric. Organizational changes would force the public broadcaster to adopt post-Fordist modes of organization. In this situation, work that was previously performed in-house, such as television production, was outsourced to private contractors in order to bolster the two billion pounds received from the general television license fee imposed across the country.

BBC Technology, therefore, does not receive money from the license fee. Instead, the company raises money through capital markets and by consulting on broadcast, communication and Internet-related projects that require an in-depth understanding of bleeding-edge information technologies.

In effect then, the broadcaster privatized its engineering division in a bid to raise more revenue. The BBC thus not only purchases services from its spin off, but also provides services for other interested parties. Understandably, this has placed the company at an advantage since it can leverage the forty years of expertise it has developed in broadcast controls, communications and technology support.

BBC Technology however must be commended for its adoption of newer technologies. With its support for Web site hosting and Internet delivery, especially for streamed audio and video, the firm has emerged as a leading value-added solutions provider. Unlike the United States, where public intervention in the economy is shunned in any form, Britain and Europe do not have the same level of misgivings and mistrust for government.

In fact, in Europe, populations expect their governments to be proactive in economic and cultural affairs. For this reason, the private hybrid company with very public roots is more than tolerated in the UK marketplace. Consumers, in fact, appreciate the company, especially due to the intelligent alliances it has formed.

In the space of three months, BBC Technology has forged partnerships with three, big-name technology players. In utilizing the services of Global Crossing for networking connections, IBM as a sales partner and Sun Microsystems for IP equipment provision, the company is has expanded its capacity to provide media rich streaming solutions. BBC Technology can provide its biggest customers with over 25,000 concurrent streams.

The company also has the capacity to host popular content sites. The company presently hosts the BBC's Web site, which obtains around 250 million hits a month.

With such technical expertise, the company expects to become a European hosting powerhouse. Expect this company to obtain major North American and European clients within the next few months. Further, expect the company to set off a firestorm of competition within the UK hosting marketplace.

About the Author
Rawlson O'Neil King is a managing editor and analyst at the Web Host Industry Review. Before joining theWHIR, Mr. King was Director of Corporate Communications at WebHosting.Com. During his tenure at Canada's most successful Web host, he established ineedsupport.com, the first branded destination customer care site in the shared hosting industry. He has prior experience as an IT consultant who served non-profit organizations, government and private industry. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University. Mr. King's column appears in theWHIR weekly.