Media Ecosystem deployment in a content-aware Future Internet architecture

Creation and efficient distribution of new rich media services is foreseen to play a key role in the Future Internet. Emerging FI architectures should be able to fully support and facilitate all kinds of current and future media-oriented applications. The architecture illustrated in this paper facilitates the deployment of an integrated Media Ecosystem, where all users can efficiently not only have access to, but also compose and share rich media services. This is achieved via a mesh of intelligent, media-centric home gateways ("HomeBoxes"), which utilize novel Content-Aware network overlays, developed on top of the existing transport infrastructures. This concept has been designed and is being implemented as an international pilot demonstrator in the frame of the EU-funded ICT project ALICANTE.