Book contents
- Television in the Streaming Era
- Development Trajectories in Global Value Chains
- Television in the Streaming Era
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Global Communication and the GVC Framework
- 2 The Making of a Digital GVC
- 3 The Rise of Networks
- 4 The Rise of Platforms
- 5 Technology Designed for Scale
- 6 Infrastructure Built at Scale
- 7 Content Production
- 8 Media Delivery
- 9 Digital Disruption, Firm Behaviour, and Industry Structure
- 10 The Transnational Media Firm
- 11 Formulating GVC-Oriented Policies
- Conclusion
- Personal Communications and Interviews by the Author
- Notes
- References
- Index
6 - Infrastructure Built at Scale
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 March 2023
- Television in the Streaming Era
- Development Trajectories in Global Value Chains
- Television in the Streaming Era
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Global Communication and the GVC Framework
- 2 The Making of a Digital GVC
- 3 The Rise of Networks
- 4 The Rise of Platforms
- 5 Technology Designed for Scale
- 6 Infrastructure Built at Scale
- 7 Content Production
- 8 Media Delivery
- 9 Digital Disruption, Firm Behaviour, and Industry Structure
- 10 The Transnational Media Firm
- 11 Formulating GVC-Oriented Policies
- Conclusion
- Personal Communications and Interviews by the Author
- Notes
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter turns its attention to the underlying infrastructure that constitutes the material foundation of the global TV system. Technology is the application of science and knowledge to accomplish a task inside a domain, while infrastructure consists of the material elements that actualise it: it is the buildings, cables, servers, switches, and routers needed to transport data packets from point A to point B; it is the firms, machinery, engineers, and technicians who design, build, update, and repair these material components. This chapter examines the cloud infrastructure that sustains streaming, focusing on two key components: undersea cable networks and data centres. The final section describes the contours of the video ecosystem that technology and infrastructure have created, and within which television operates today.
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- Television in the Streaming EraThe Global Shift, pp. 93 - 101Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023