In a move that aims to bring more scale to over-the-top video services, Qwilt and content delivery network provider Limelight Networks have stitched together an integrated caching system that places more content toward the edge of the network and closer to the end user.

The integration combines Limelight’s CDN with Qwilt’s “open” caching in ISP networks around the world.

The linkup with Limelight will help to improve the quality of experience and lower latencies of OTT services, Qwilt CEO and co-founder Alon Maor said.

While Limelight is the first on board with such an integration, Maor stressed that the agreement is not exclusive and that Qwilt has trials ongoing with other CDN and streaming infrastructure providers. He also noted that this is a technical integration, and that no money is being exchanged as a result.

“This is a very meaningful step toward an internet that’s not just for open connectivity, but also content delivery that’s closer to the edge,” Maor said.

Related: Qwilt Takes Live Streaming, VR to the Edge

He also confirmed that the work between Qwilt and Limelight stems from an “open caching” architecture/initiative that’s been undertaken by the Streaming Video Alliance that aims to drive more scale and quality into online video.

The SVA, a group formed in late 2014, is focused on specs and best practices for video streaming. Charter Communications, Limelight, Qwilt, Verizon Communications, Viacom, Yahoo and ViaSat were among the first group of companies to get directly involved in the SVA’s open caching project.

The Streaming Video Alliance (SVA), a cross-industry group formed in late 2014, has tapped Jason Thibeault as its first executive director.  

Thibeault, who is late of content delivery network company Limelight Networks and was a founder and CTO of a mobile-focused company called GoWare, will serve as the SVA’s “chief evangelist and advocate” within the streaming industry, the organization said.

The SVA also announced the appointment of two new board members, Yves Boudreau, CTO of TV and media technology strategy at Ericsson, and Keith Zubchevich, chief strategy officer, Conviva.

In an interview, Thibeault said his top priorities include ensuring that the SVA continues to produce technical requirements, best practices and other documents that could eventually lead to industry-wide standards; to generate more awareness of the org and its aims (he said SVA wants to become a “lightning rod” for streaming video; and to expand the SVA’s membership base, which currently includes a broad mix of tech vendors, ISPs, and content providers.

That group (see the full list below) currently has some big names from the streaming world that’s still absent, including Netflix, Amazon and Google/YouTube, and the SVA wants to change that.

Per the SVA’s Web site, principal membership, which includes engagement in working groups and voting on technical committee proposed specs, and eligibility to be elected to the SVA’s  board, runs $10,000 per year, while supporting membership costs $5,000 per year, and allows for the review or working documents and to audit meetings.

As for deliverables, the SVA has released two approved guideline documents  -- Open Caching Systems Functional Requirements and QoE Industry Guidelines. While some of the SVA’s work could eventually evolve into standards or quasi-standards, most of the current focus is around technical requirements, guidelines and best practices for video streaming.

“We’re not necessarily trying to define what online video is, but to help shape it” by working with a broad cross-section of the industry, Thibeault said.

The SVA’s next quarterly meeting is scheduled for Sept. 7 in London, just ahead of the IBC show in Amsterdam.

The SVA’s membership currently includes Beamr, Cedexis, Charter Communications, Ciena, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Concurrent, Conviva, Encompass TV, Ericsson, FOX Networks, Hughes Satellite Systems, IneoQuest, Intel, Irdeto, Korea Telecom, Level 3 Communications, Liberty Global, Limelight Networks, MediaMelon, MLB Advanced Media, Mobolize, Nagra, NBCUniversal, NeuLion, Nice People at Work, Nokia, Nominum, PeerApp, Qwilt, Sky, System73, Telecom Italia, Telstra, Ustream (now part of IBM), ViaSat Inc., Verimatrix, Verizon, Vubiquity, Wowza Media Systems and Yahoo.