We are spending more time online than they have in the past. Especially during the pandemic, the internet became our lifeline, our window to the world. We were streaming content for entertainment, stayed productive with video conferencing and working from home and kept learning with online schools and classes. We stayed in touch with our friends and family through video and even consulted doctors through video chats.

All of this ofcourse led to significant increase in streaming usage and data usage. The average per customer consumption shot up by 2.5x in last 18 months. As per Android Central, a 480p movie uses roughly 0.7GB of data per hour, while a 1080p video uses 1.5GB. A 4K stream, which is probably the top definition given by most internet service providers, consumes approximately 7.2GB per hour.

That's a far cry from audio clips, which utilize an aggregate of 0.12GB per hour for large 320kbps music streaming. The images on social networks can typically range from a few hundred KB for a reduced image to hundreds of MB for high-resolution images.

Rise in video consumption has placed a huge strain on network and has often led to poor performance of buffering.

ACT Smartfiber^®

With the increase in video streaming, there is a strong need for better speeds, data, and optimizations for video streaming. ACT SmartFiber^® is optimized for video – both on streaming video (like YouTube) as well as interactive video (like Zoom/Teams calls). With this technology, you will get the best video experience for all activities like streaming movies or shows, attending a video conferencing for work or school, or surfing all at the same time.

Video streaming:

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ACT Fibernet explores all avenues to bring content in the most optimized path allowing users to stream with extremely low latency on streaming video. Some of the steps taken are constantly scanning for popular destinations by looking at traffic patterns and working with various content providers to deliver the best experience. This involves technological innovations in smart caching, peering, and other robust traffic routing technologies.

ACT’s SmartFiber technology has accounted for larger screens and increasing usage of smart TVs, and the fact that it consumes more bandwidth. ACT SmartFiber^® technology ensures that the streaming is optimized for Smart TVs, ensuring a phenomenal viewing experience in 4K, with no buffering and lags, so that users can continue to enjoy movies and shows. 24*7.

Video conferencing:

For interactive video – which demands a low jitter, low packet loss, and extremely low-latency network performance for a seamless video experience, ACT SmartFiber^® constantly monitors these parameters at an application and location level to provide superior video calling experience on zoom/other popular VC apps. Being connected has become so important - video calls with family, events celebrated online, schooling from home - all become simpler with ACT SmartFiber^®.