Elterich declines to identify which vendors' systems the company is using but notes that Fidelity outsources its Webcasts to Yahoo Broadcast. Fidelity streams stock quotes on its site, similar to a real-time ticker, with information updated every three minutes. The company also streams news on its site. It's extremely effective for providing information in an interactive environment. But he says streaming technology is not without flaws.
Speed is a big problem.
Streaming is really a world of cable modems and DSL, and, even then, streams can be disrupted. So while 2001 won't see widespread deployment, it is still a pivotal year as the industry grapples with bandwidth limitations and lack of quality of service and equipment standards. The network demands are great. Bandwidth consumption is keeping some companies from providing streaming services. A large engineering firm recently instituted a policy that forbids streaming audio or video to the desktop because of the drain on resources, says an employee, who asked not to be identified.