Company snapshot
| Category | BT (British Telecom) | CDN77 |
|---|---|---|
| Status | active | active |
| Founded | — | — |
| Headquarters | — | — |
| Website | — | — |
| Docs | — | — |
Overview
BT (British Telecom), founded in 1846, is a major UK telecommunications provider offering CDN services through its edge infrastructure. It leverages the Streaming Video Alliance’s Open Caching technology, developed with Cisco and Qwilt, to deliver content for 8K video and AR/VR applications. The service targets enterprise customers, particularly those needing high-capacity video delivery. BT operates under its EE brand for mobile services and Openreach for broadband infrastructure. Its CDN is designed to handle modern streaming demands, serving media companies and large-scale businesses.
CDN77 is a global content delivery network (CDN) provider based in London, founded in 2011. It operates a network with over 200 Tbps capacity across six continents, delivering approximately 175 petabytes of data daily, with a primary focus on video content, which constitutes about 90% of its traffic. The company serves a range of clients, including websites, gaming platforms, and streaming services, offering features like DDoS protection and real-time analytics. CDN77 is noted for its infrastructure services and content delivery, supporting major websites and applications worldwide.
Network & Architecture
BT’s CDN uses a global network with points of presence (PoPs) integrated into its extensive telecom infrastructure, though specific PoP counts are not publicly disclosed. It employs Open Caching to turn existing telecom infrastructure into a federated CDN, optimized for low-latency delivery of high-bandwidth content like 8K video. The network benefits from BT’s EE mobile coverage, reaching over 99% of the UK population, and Openreach’s fibre backbone. It has strong regional presence in EMEA, particularly the UK, with peering optimized for European traffic. Coverage in APAC, LATAM, or other regions is less emphasized.
CDN77 maintains a global network with over 20,000 servers and points of presence (PoPs) across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Its infrastructure supports a capacity of 200 Tbps, with robust peering and routing optimized for low latency. The network is particularly strong in Europe and North America, with recent expansions in Asia through partnerships like Exa Infrastructure for 400G and 100G wavelengths. While it has comprehensive global coverage, its presence in Africa and certain parts of APAC may be less dense compared to competitors like Cloudflare or Akamai.
Feature comparison
| Feature | BT (British Telecom) | CDN77 |
|---|---|---|
waf | ✗ | ✗ |
bot_mitigation | ✗ | ✗ |
ddos | ✗ | ✓ |
rate_limit | ✗ | ✗ |
http3_quic | ✓ | ✓ |
tls13 | ✗ | ✓ |
tiered_cache | ✗ | ✓ |
origin_shield | ✗ | ✓ |
instant_purge | ✗ | ✓ |
stale_while_revalidate | ✗ | ✓ |
stale_if_error | ✗ | ✓ |
image_optimization | ✗ | ✓ |
video_vod | ✓ | ✓ |
video_live | ✗ | ✓ |
drm | ✗ | ✗ |
hls_dash_packaging | ✗ | ✓ |
websockets | ✗ | ✓ |
signed_urls | ✗ | ✓ |
edge_compute | ✗ | ✓ |
functions | ✗ | ✗ |
kv_storage | ✗ | ✗ |
api_first | ✓ | ✓ |
realtime_logs | ✓ | ✓ |
log_push | ✗ | ✓ |
terraform | ✗ | ✗ |
Legend: ✓ = Supported, ✗ = Not supported, — = Not listed
Pricing
BT’s CDN pricing is enterprise-focused, typically requiring custom contracts rather than pay-as-you-go or public per-GB rates. No free tier or public pricing details are available. Interested parties must contact BT’s sales team for quotes, as pricing is tailored to large-scale deployments.
CDN77 operates on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with no long-term commitments, making it accessible for various business sizes. Pricing is traffic-based, with per-GB rates available but not publicly detailed; for example, high-volume plans are tailored for enterprise clients. A free trial is offered for testing services. Full pricing details are available at https://www.cdn77.com/pricing.
Integrations & DevEx
BT provides an API-first interface for managing CDN configurations and accessing real-time logs. Documentation is available at https://www.bt.com/about/developers. There is no public mention of Terraform support, SDKs, or specific CI/CD integrations. The focus is on enterprise integrations for media delivery, with limited emphasis on developer-centric tools or migration utilities.
CDN77 supports an API-first approach with comprehensive APIs for managing services, including content purging and analytics. Real-time logs and analytics are available, with log-push capabilities for integration with external systems. While Terraform support is not explicitly documented, the platform offers SDKs and tools for developers to automate configurations. Migration tools are available to assist with onboarding from other CDNs, and the client portal provides detailed analytics for monitoring performance.
When it fits
- Enterprises needing high-capacity video delivery, especially for 8K or AR/VR content, leveraging BT’s telecom infrastructure.
- UK-based businesses requiring strong regional performance with EE and Openreach integration.
- Organizations seeking custom enterprise CDN solutions with direct support from a legacy telecom provider.
- Suitable for video-heavy workloads, such as streaming platforms or VOD services, due to its robust video delivery features.
- Ideal for gaming companies needing low-latency content delivery and DDoS protection for global audiences.
- Fits businesses seeking a PAYG model with flexible scaling and no long-term contracts.
When it doesn’t
- Small to medium businesses looking for pay-as-you-go or transparent pricing models.
- Developers needing extensive edge compute, serverless functions, or advanced security features like WAF or DDoS protection.
- Companies prioritizing global coverage outside EMEA, as BT’s network focus is heavily UK and Europe-centric.
- May not be the best choice for organizations requiring advanced WAF or bot mitigation, as these features are not currently offered.
- Less optimal for users needing extensive edge compute functions or key-value storage, which are limited compared to competitors like Fastly.
- Smaller presence in Africa or niche APAC regions may limit performance for highly localized traffic.
History & Notes
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