The VERDI project: an interactive network integrating satellite and terrestrial technologies

Modern services based on 'rich media' interactive content require high bandwidth and efficient, cost-effective techniques for delivering content to end-users. An example of such an approach is the VERDI project (Virtual Environment for Real-time Distributed applications over the Internet) which offers tridimensional interactive broadband applications for distance-learning and content delivery. To achieve this, we designed a hybrid network in which the multicast and high-data-rate transmissions take full advantage of satellite technology, while the interactive function is carried by the terrestrial Internet which provides the return channel for the bidirectional link. This paper describes this network and the applications supported by it.