Reinventing the CDN for Real-time Media with Media Over QUIC

Chapter 1: The Industry Shift: Why MoQ? 

As global demand for high-fidelity, interactive media accelerates, traditional streaming architectures are confronting a long-standing structural constraint, a delivery trilemma between latency, reliability, and operational cost. Systems optimised for large-scale distribution typically introduce buffering and delay; those engineered for ultra-low latency often struggle to maintain stability at scale; and solutions that guarantee high reliability frequently depend on expensive dedicated infrastructure. As modern applications increasingly require all three attributes simultaneously, this trade-off has become a fundamental barrier to the evolution of real-time media services.

Media over QUIC (MoQ) represents a new architectural approach designed to overcome this constraint. Built on the QUIC transport protocol, MoQ treats media as discrete objects rather than continuous streams and distributes them using a Publish/Subscribe (Pub/Sub) model. This enables flexible routing, selective retransmission, and efficient fan-out distribution across heterogeneous networks.

1.1 A Unified Open Framework

MoQ is not a proprietary solution but an open standard under development within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). By leveraging modern web transport technologies, it establishes a common foundation for interoperable, large-scale media delivery across platforms, operators, and geographic regions.

The open nature of the framework is critical. It enables innovation while avoiding vendor lock-in, allowing networks to evolve toward real-time media capabilities without abandoning existing infrastructure investments.

1.2 Backed by Global Tech Leaders

The MoQ ecosystem is being shaped by major infrastructure providers, networking vendors, and global platforms. Participants include leading CDN operators and cloud providers,  such as Cloudflare and Akamai, hardware manufacturers such as Cisco, and large-scale content platforms such as YouTube and Meta. This broad support indicates strong confidence that object-based real-time delivery will play a central role in the future internet architecture.

1.3 Closing the Performance Gap

Current media delivery technologies exhibit a fragmented performance landscape:

• HTTP-based protocols such as HLS and DASH provide scalability but typically incur multi-second latency due to segment buffering.
  
  
• WebRTC enables sub-second communication but faces challenges in large-scale distribution and operational complexity.

MoQ aims to bridge this gap by combining near-real-time responsiveness with efficient large-scale dissemination. The object-based Pub/Sub model allows data to propagate rapidly through relay nodes without requiring each consumer to establish an independent connection to the source.

In doing so, MoQ moves media delivery closer to a native internet capability rather than an overlay workaround.

Figure 1 - Standard MoQ Architecture

Chapter 2: Caton Enhanced MoQ: From Concept to Commercial Reality

While the MoQ standard continues to evolve, production environments require solutions that deliver consistent performance today. Caton has developed an implementation that builds on the core MoQ architecture, adding additional capabilities necessary for real-world deployment. In this paper, this implementation is referred to as Caton Enhanced MoQ.

Caton Enhanced MoQ maintains compatibility with the emerging open framework while introducing mechanisms to address performance, resilience, and operational challenges observed in large-scale media transport.

2.1 Core Characteristics of Caton Enhanced MoQ

Caton Enhanced MoQ incorporates advanced features designed to support mission-critical applications:

Ultra-Low Latency (< 300ms)
Optimised relay coordination and path selection enable end-to-end delays suitable for near real-time workflows, including live production and interactive communication.

Intelligent MoDAG Control Plane
AI data-driven routing algorithms dynamically adapt to network conditions, proactively selecting optimal paths rather than relying solely on reactive congestion management.

Bandwidth Efficiency
Techniques such as network coding and intelligent distribution minimise redundant transmissions, improving utilisation of available capacity without increasing latency.

Codec Agnostic
Transport is decoupled from encoding formats, allowing a wide range of media types and resolutions, including professional high-bitrate video, to be delivered over the same infrastructure.

Together, these capabilities translate the theoretical advantages of MoQ into a deployable system that meets stringent operational requirements.

Figure 2 - Caton Enhanced MoQ Architecture

2.2 Operational Platforms Built on Caton Enhanced MoQ

Caton Media XStream (CMXS) is a commercial platform built on Caton Enhanced MoQ architecture for real-time video transmission. It operates as a decentralised distribution system spanning multiple regions, with edge software components that enable integration with existing production workflows.

Deployments of CMXS have supported cross-border broadcast contribution, large-scale live event distribution, and synchronised multi-venue screenings. These scenarios involve high concurrency, strict reliability requirements, and complex network conditions, demonstrating that object-based real-time delivery can function at production scale.

Such implementations provide practical evidence that enhanced MoQ architectures can move beyond experimental use into sustained operational service.

2.3 Comparison with Legacy Architectures

Compared with traditional streaming architectures, Caton Enhanced MoQ introduces fundamental changes across several dimensions:

Chapter 3:  Market Opportunity: Where Caton Enhanced MoQ Creates Value

3.1 Structural Imbalance in Media Delivery Economics

The exponential growth of video traffic has widened the gap between demand and economic sustainability. High-resolution formats, continuous streaming, and real-time applications consume increasing bandwidth, yet revenue models for connectivity have remained relatively flat.

Traditional delivery mechanisms rely heavily on repeated upstream retrieval of identical content. During large live events, this results in substantial redundant traffic traversing costly transit links, driving operational expenditure while offering limited opportunities for differentiation.

Without architectural change, networks risk becoming low-margin conduits for external content rather than value-adding service platforms.

3.2 Lessons from Previous Optimisation Efforts

Major content providers have attempted to mitigate these inefficiencies by deploying proprietary caching systems within access networks. Localising traffic reduces upstream demand and improves performance, but such solutions typically serve a single ecosystem and cannot accommodate diverse content sources.

As media consumption shifts toward real-time and interactive experiences, the limitations of closed architectures become increasingly evident. The industry requires an open framework capable of supporting multi-tenant, multi-application environments.

3.3 Caton Enhanced MoQ as a Network Efficiency Layer

Caton Enhanced MoQ addresses these challenges through subscription-based dissemination. Once a relay node receives content, it can redistribute it to multiple downstream consumers without making repeated upstream requests.

This approach delivers several benefits:

• Reduced backbone utilisation and transit costs
• Improved stability during peak demand
• Efficient distribution across geographically dispersed audiences
• Compatibility with existing infrastructure

By transforming duplicated data flows into coordinated distribution, networks gain greater control over performance and resource allocation.

3.4 Evolution of Connectivity to Experience

Caton Enhanced MoQ enables network operators and service providers to move beyond commodity bandwidth offerings toward experience-centric services.

Experience-Driven Differentiation
Latency, reliability, and synchronisation become measurable service attributes rather than best-effort outcomes.

Service-Level Guarantees
Deterministic performance supports contractual commitments for professional media workflows.

Platform-Based Revenue Models
Open architecture allows multiple content providers and applications to share infrastructure efficiently.

Operational Cost Optimisation
Reduced reliance on upstream transit improves margins while mitigating exposure to congestion and capacity constraints.

This transformation allows networks to evolve from passive carriers of data to active enablers of digital experiences.

3.5 Enabling Future Media Ecosystems

The demand for real-time communication continues to expand into new domains, including:

• Live sports and entertainment distribution
• Remote production and cloud workflows
• Interactive streaming and audience participation
• Immersive and spatial media experiences
• Hybrid physical-digital events

Conventional delivery networks optimised for file distribution struggle to meet sub-second latency requirements at scale. Enhanced MoQ provides a foundation for these emerging applications by combining decentralised dissemination with adaptive routing.

3.6 Strategic Timing

Several converging trends make adoption particularly significant at this stage:

• Growing alignment around open real-time delivery standards
• Rapid expansion of ultra-high-definition media
• Rising expectations for synchronous interaction
• Economic pressure to improve infrastructure efficiency

Organisations that invest early in object-based real-time delivery can position themselves to support next-generation services while maintaining flexibility as technologies evolve.

Conclusion: Toward a Real-Time Media Internet

The evolution of digital media is entering a new phase defined by immediacy, interactivity, and scale. Traditional delivery mechanisms, originally designed for file transfer and buffered streaming, are increasingly constrained by a structural trilemma between latency, reliability, and operational cost. As audiences and industries move toward real-time experiences, this trade-off has become a limiting factor not only for performance but also for the economic sustainability of large-scale media delivery.

Media over QUIC (MoQ) represents a foundational architectural shift. By treating media as objects and distributing them through a Publish/Subscribe model, MoQ establishes a pathway to combine low-latency responsiveness with scalable distribution. As the standard continues to mature, production deployments require additional operational capabilities, including more deterministic routing, bandwidth efficiency mechanisms, and resilience under real-world network conditions.

Caton Enhanced MoQ builds upon the core MoQ architecture to address these requirements, enabling object-based real-time delivery to function as an operational system rather than a conceptual model. Beyond technical performance, the broader significance of this shift lies in how it changes the role of networks: from passive conduits of traffic to intelligent distribution layers that can actively shape experience, efficiency, and service outcomes.

As open standards gain momentum and real-time applications expand across broadcasting, cloud production, interactive media, and immersive experiences, object-based delivery architectures are likely to become a central component of next-generation media infrastructure. Organisations that adopt these principles early will be better positioned to support emerging services, improve cost efficiency, and maintain flexibility as the ecosystem continues to evolve.

Ultimately, the transition to real-time media delivery is not a single protocol upgrade; it is a structural transformation in how information moves across networks. MoQ establishes the foundation. Enhanced implementations make it deployable. And the organisations that invest in these capabilities will define the next era of media distribution.

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