Akamai Technologies is expanding its 2-year-old relationship with AOL, installing additional servers at the edge of the Internet service provider's network to speed content delivery.
The deal will help AOL better serve both occasional visitors and subscribers, Jeff Young, a spokesman for Cambridge, Mass.-based Akamai told internetnews.com
Non-members, who might visit one of AOL's news, entertainment or shopping sites, will experience faster page loading as Akamai equipment routes traffic around bottlenecks.
But perhaps more importantly, these servers, combined with existing AOL infrastructure, will act as a private content delivery network (PCDN) for AOL members.
An AOL spokesman declined to discuss what types of content might flow through the PCDN or what other technology will power it.
Analysts believe the Dulles, Va.-based ISP is betting on paid content such as music and video to supplement flagging advertising and Internet access fees. Therefore, creating a positive experience for members is critical. Premium services are expected to be a large component of AOL's pending 8.0 release.
Neither the value, nor duration, of the contract with Akamai was disclosed.
Regardless, the win is significant for Akamai, which, like other firms that sell IT equipment and services, has been challenged by the stagnant economy. New or expanded deals with large ISPs and portals are ways to establish reliable revenue streams. Akamai's servers are also used in Earthlink's network.
Separately, Cable & Wireless filed for a court order to forbid Akamai from selling products and services it says infringes on patented technology.
It's the latest salvo in a two-year intellectual property war over who invented Internet content delivery technology.
At issue in this filing, is a C&W patent for Host-to-Host Adaptive Routing Protocol (HHARP), technology that sidesteps network congestion through alternate
routes. In August, it filed a similar action over a content storage system that serves only the freshest information to sites. Both are used in Akamai's EdgeSuite
offering.
Hearing dates have not been set. However, they usually take place 45 to 90 days after filings, said Chad Couser, a C&W spokesman.
Akamai has denied any infringement and has suits pending against C&W. And judging by today's announcement, the legal threat isn't preventing it from pursuing customers.
