The internet needs a competitive, royalty-free video codec

Given the central role that the internet plays in modern life, internet bandwidth should be considered a scarce resource, demanding careful consideration as to how we consume it to maximize its utility. Global internet traffic is predicted to increase nearly threefold between 2016 and 2021, and the proportion of video traffic is expected to rise from 73 to 82 over the same period [1], driven in part by the move of content from broadcast to online delivery channels and to the rapid evolution of virtual reality applications. There is considerable concern that the growth rate of intellectual property (IP) trafficwill exceed the rate at which network capacity is being expanded. Adding network capacity means increasing network speed, particularly the last mile where the traffic leaves the high-speed trunk networks as it is delivered to individual consumers. This is both expensive and time consuming for the network operators, and is not always possible. Thus the efficiency achieved by video compression is becoming increasingly important. In this paper, we present the argument in favor of an open source, a royalty-free video codec that will keep pace with the evolution of video traffic. Additionally, we argue that the availability of a state-of-the-art, royalty-free codec levels the playing field, allowing small content owners and application developers to compete with the larger companies that operate in this space. This will ultimately result in a richer and more diverse internet.