According to a Wowza Media Systems survey, almost 90% of respondents expect access to video on every device, but access isn’t their only expectation. More than 70% demand video quality to be consistent across every device, every time. Year after year, this expectation has grown steadily, with audiences becoming less tolerant of buffering, delays, or fluctuating bitrates. Nowadays, viewers assume that high-quality, uninterrupted streaming is a given, regardless of their location, the device they use, or how many people are watching simultaneously. The gradual increase in demand has put pressure on streaming infrastructure, especially during live events when traffic can be unpredictable. At the same time, publishers today face a complex delivery ecosystem marked by uneven global infrastructure, rising bandwidth costs, and congested network pathways. Even robust multi-CDN setups can struggle to maintain consistent quality across regions and devices. 

In this article, we explore how System73’s Edge Intelligence, powered by real-time network decisions and our centrally orchestrated peer-to-peer model, offers a new approach to delivering consistent, high-quality video at global scale.

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What determines streaming quality?

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For viewers, streaming quality is defined by several highly visible elements: how quickly the video starts, how often it buffers, bitrate stability, and overall latency between the live moment and what appears on screen. When considered together, these factors are referred to as Quality of Experience (QoE), which depends heavily on the conditions between the content source and the viewer’s device. Network congestion, distance from the nearest server, routing inefficiencies, and last-mile connectivity can all cause sudden drops in performance, especially during high-traffic live events.

But when you look at it behind the scenes, the biggest factor affecting QoE is visibility. Without an understanding of real-time network behavior, i.e., where congestion is forming, which paths are slowing down, and which devices are struggling, publishers have very little control over the viewer’s experience. This is where edge analytics become essential. By observing and analyzing granular insights into traffic patterns, capacity, and delivery routes, content providers are able to make smarter decisions about how content travels across the network. Ultimately, better information leads to better routing, which leads to dramatically better QoE.

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The shortcomings of traditional CDNs and streaming strategies

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Traditional content delivery networks (CDNs) were designed for an earlier era of the internet, when audiences were smaller, traffic was lighter, and there was far less geographical diversity. Today, their limitations are becoming more apparent. Many regions still have a sparse distribution of edge servers, meaning viewers are often routed through distant or overloaded locations. In South America, for example, a major CDN provider operates just a handful of edge sites to serve an entire continent, resulting in higher latency and lower average QoE. During peak moments, such as live sports broadcasts, these servers quickly become congested, triggering rebuffering, bitrate drops, and delays that frustrate viewers and increase churn.

Even multi-CDN strategies, while helpful for redundancy, can struggle to solve these performance gaps. They add complexity and cost yet still rely on static routing and server availability rather than real-time network intelligence. Traditional delivery models simply cannot adapt fast enough to maintain consistent quality when millions of viewers join simultaneously or when infrastructure is limited, as we saw with our partner Amman TV in Jordan (see Case Studies for more information). As demand for reliable, high-resolution streaming continues to grow, the limitations of CDN-only approaches become more apparent, revealing the need for smarter, more dynamic solutions.

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Edge Intelligence explained: how real-time decisions improve streaming quality

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Edge Intelligence is the star of System73’s Data Logistics Platform. This live content delivery solution replaces static, server-dependent delivery with a centrally orchestrated peer-to-peer broadcast model designed specifically for live content. Instead of relying solely on fixed CDN locations, each viewer’s device becomes a temporary, secure node —an “edge intelligence server”— capable of passing segments of the most recent 60 seconds of video to nearby peers. 

The topology is designed as a tree structure, where “parent” and “child” nodes are assigned through authoritative commands. This ensures stability, security, and predictable performance, even during high-traffic events. Essentially, this design allows Edge Intelligence to make real-time decisions based on live network conditions. Powered by its sister solution, Edge Analytics, the system continuously monitors congestion, routing efficiency, and device performance, then proactively reassigns nodes or reroutes traffic to avoid bottlenecks. 

This means that the network is able to deliver higher bitrates to more viewers, even in regions where CDN infrastructure is limited. The result is consistently smoother playback, faster startup times, and far fewer interruptions. In major events such as the UEFA Champions League Final and the Copa América Final, this model kept over 90% of viewers on the highest rendition while offloading up to 70% of traffic from physical CDNs, dramatically reducing delivery costs while maintaining exceptional QoE. 

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Edge Intelligence has been designed from the ground up to deliver live video content and improve streaming quality around the world. For more information on our Data Logistics Platform, or to book a call with a member of our team, visit system73.com.

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