As the NFL season begins, Internet service providers are getting ready for fan demand

September 7, 2023

This paid portion is sponsored by SDN Communications.

Preparing for the start of the NFL season means different things to different people.

For fans, that might mean getting a favorite jersey ready. Or maybe it’s making choices in a fantasy office football league.

For Gary Glissendorf, network architect at SDN Communications, it means something very different. That means ensuring customers will have the bandwidth to stream NFL games without hiccups or signal loss. It means planning for some of the biggest viewing days of the year.

SDN Communications prepares for peak demand on its internet backbone, and the peak demand coincides with the NFL season. This illustration with an NFL on TV file photo shows the SDN server room that distributes TV broadcasts to member companies. Photo: SDN/Wikimedia Commons

Although SDN is a business-to-business Internet provider, it also provides Internet to 17 member companies such as Golden West Telecommunications and Alliance Communications. And their customers are streaming more content than ever before.

The move of NFL Sunday Ticket to YouTube will increase demand on the SDN network

This year, the NFL regular season begins today. The season will look different than before as Amazon streams more games and YouTube takes over the Sunday Ticket package previously available on DirecTV. SDN’s network must be prepared.

“As an Internet provider, we have to plan for that peak time,” Glissendorf said. “In 2022, the pinnacle night for us is Thursday Night Football.”

The NFL began streaming Thursday night games on Amazon last year. That decision has a significant impact on Internet providers everywhere, Glissendorf said, because while games broadcast by cable or satellite dish only use one signal into the home — regardless of quantity The TV or device being used – streaming is another matter.

Each device is transmitting a separate signal, multiplying the load on the internet connection.

“I would expect most households to watch the games streaming on multiple devices,” Glissendorf said. “Thursday Night Football has impacted so many people.”

That puts pressure on the “backbone” or core of the Internet, which brings in the most traffic. Before Amazon started streaming Thursday night games last year, it warned SDN about the expected increase in demand.

“Their prediction is that our network will grow by 60 gigs,” Glissendorf said. “We saw a 50 gig increase, which is pretty close to their estimate.”

Peak internet usage ‘always a moving target’

Before each year, Glissendorf looks at potential usage and makes predictions about how much additional bandwidth will be needed to accommodate additional streaming demand during activities like NFL games. SDN also plans several years in advance to meet expected demand.

“Our member companies perform the same type of forecasting to meet customer needs,” Glissendorf said.

They can look at a community and estimate how many devices each household will stream on. To meet demand, that could mean purchasing new equipment or simply purchasing more bandwidth from the provider.

For Glissendorf, planning means staying ahead of internet trends. But some things are not always predictable.

“A snowstorm in South Dakota is usually a peak day,” he said. “So our plans may be a little different from other providers.”

The SDN network’s peak capacity period runs from Thanksgiving through March, including the holidays and cold months when people spend more time inside their devices.

“There is always a gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas when people buy new appliances,” he said. “Besides, weather or sporting events drive demand.”

This upcoming season, Glissendorf hopes YouTube TV’s purchase of the NFL Sunday Ticket package will accelerate the football streaming trend, meaning Sunday will compete with Thursday and blizzards for the highest usage .

“What will this year be like?” he asks. “You have to stay flexible and keep an eye on what’s changing in the world and adjust as needed because it’s always a moving target.”