C-Band Transition Extending to Video Infrastructure at the Edge

How spectrum policy turned video distribution into an IP problem, and why the answer runs through NetActuate's edge platform and NETINT's video processing units.

The regulatory clock has run out on C-band satellite. We attended the Future of Satellite Replacement session at NAB 2026 put on by the Hive Group and came away with a clear read on where the industry stands: the planning debates are over. 2026 is an execution year.

For operators rebuilding contribution and distribution workflows on IP, the infrastructure decisions made now will define the economics and operational complexity for years to come. Here's how NetActuate is thinking about the problem and what we're building to solve it.

What Replacing a Transponder Actually Requires

A satellite transponder bundles several things that IP must deliver separately: transport, reliability, reach, and distribution. On IP, you have to engineer each of those properties deliberately. Routing and failover replace reliability. A distributed footprint replaces reach. Always-on video processing at the edge replaces the passive distribution that transponders provide for free.

That last piece is where the economics tends to surprise operators. Every signal that used to ride a transponder now has to be encoded or transcoded somewhere in the IP path — channel origination, regional re-encodes, multi-destination distribution, disaster recovery copies. Multiply that compute requirement across ten or twenty points of presence and it becomes a significant line item. Choosing the right hardware for that job is as important as choosing the right network and companies in the space need to take a deep look at their video infrastructure.

We’re big proponents of Video Processing Units (VPUs) as they are transforming the economics of video streaming in profound ways. NETINT Technologies created the Video Processing Unit category and won the 2024 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award for the design and deployment of efficient hardware video accelerators for cloud. 

That's why we've partnered with NETINT and made their Video Processing Units (VPUs) available as a service across our global platform. Read more about VPUs in the C-Band stack from NETINT’s perspective here.

Quadra T1U VPUs are now a self-service accelerator option across NetActuate's global platform: choose a location, select firmware, configure a VM, attach a VPU through secure passthrough, and run FFmpeg, Gstreamer, or NETINT’s Bitstream media processing pipelines on dedicated hardware within minutes. 

Where NetActuate Fits: Infrastructure, Full Stop

NetActuate is an infrastructure provider. We don't compete in the application stack, we don't build encoders, and we don't offer branded media delivery services. That's a deliberate choice, not a gap in our portfolio.

For broadcasters and service providers who already own their application stack, their encoding relationships, or their viewer-facing product, we are not a threat to any of that. We are the layer underneath: a global edge footprint across more than 45 locations, BGP Anycast routing engineered for deterministic failover, and the infrastructure that your workflows run on (VMs, K8s, or Bare Metal). 

Lane discipline is what makes us a valuable infrastructure partner rather than a complicated one. You keep your stack. We keep the lights on underneath it. Learn more about our C-band transition infrastructure program.

Multi-Site Buildouts, Done Repeatably

C-band replacement projects are multi-site engagements. The workflows that depended on satellite were regional or national in scope, and replacing them on IP means standing up consistent, production-grade infrastructure across many points of presence. Ideally this happens in carrier hotels with direct interconnects, which is exactly where post-earth-station IP architectures tend to land.

Our Open Network Edge (ONE) platform is built for this kind of repeatable multi-site rollout allowing users the flexibility to choose and manage their configurations. Define the architecture (compute, VPU configuration, network setup) and replicate it across markets as needed. 

For operators still in the design phase, we can also engage in a consulting capacity to help validate architecture decisions before any iron gets racked. Our consulting practice is a good starting point if you want an infrastructure-layer perspective on your transition plan.

The Conversation Continues at IBC 2026

The C-band transition is not a U.S.-only story. European broadcasters are navigating analogous pressures. The spectrum policy is different, but the same fundamental questions of how to rebuild reliable, scalable, cost-effective video distribution on IP infrastructure are the same.

The NetActuate team will kick off IBC 2026 by joining industry leaders at the Hive Group's The Future of Satellite Replacement event on Friday, September 11, from 07:30 - 10:30. You can also find us at the NETINT booth 1.D49 where we'll showcase our trailblazing new offering: VPU-as-a-Service. If you're attending and want to talk through what edge infrastructure for IP-based broadcast workflows looks like for your organization, please get in touch.

The Stack Is Ready

Operators finalizing their C-band replacement plans don't need to assemble this from scratch. The infrastructure layer is in place: global footprint, contribution-grade routing, repeatable site architecture, and VPU-accelerated compute at the edge. Take a look at our C-band transition program to learn more how we’re approaching this opportunity. 

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