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.

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.

Features

BT’s CDN supports video-on-demand (VOD) delivery, optimized for high-resolution formats like 8K, with HTTP/3 and QUIC for faster content delivery. It offers real-time logs for performance monitoring and an API-first approach for integration. The service focuses on enterprise-grade video streaming but lacks publicly documented features like WAF, DDoS protection, or edge compute. Open Caching enables scalable content delivery without significant capital expenditure for BT.

Pricing Snapshot (2025-08-15)

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.

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.

When it fits / When it doesn’t

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.

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.