ComStock Ups Datafeed Speed

Inside Market Data
February 28, 2005

Real-time data vendor ComStock is increasing the data rates on its IP4 high-speed datafeed network and introducing an optimized options data service, it announced last week. ComStock is raising IP4's capacity from 18 megabits per second to 42 mb/s by June. The IP4 network delivers ComStock's XpressFeed, a digital real-time datafeed that covers more than 1.8 million instruments.

According to David Brukman, ComStock's CTO, the company chose the 42-mb/s figure "because it comfortably fits into carrying systems which are using DS3 lines." DS3 lines have a capacity of 45 mb/s. ComStock had planned to launch a nine mb/s network, IP3+, last fall, but Brukman says it instead decided to devote more time to IP4 (IMD, May 31, 2004).

In order to implement the IP4 network, ComStock has upgraded its communications links from exchanges to handle the higher incoming data volumes.

He adds, "In 2004, ComStock saw data volumes grow by more than 106 percent. And for 2005, we expect that this rapid growth rate will continue, with projections of additional expansion of up to nine percent a month. In the past three to four weeks we saw options traffic rise 24 percent, an increase we weren't expecting."

He says ComStock is monitoring the exchange links to ensure sufficient bandwidth. "The links are upgraded to a higher bandwidth when they reach 70 percent of their capacity."

Don Finucane, vice-president of marketing and product management for ComStock, says that IP4 is aimed at clients that need bandwidth-intensive data, such as options data. Clients that require a smaller subset of the datafeed, such as North American equity data, may not need to increase their bandwidth in the short term, says Finucane.

ComStock has introduced the Mitigated Options Service for those who do not require the full set of options data. The Mitigated Options Service, which provides best bid and offer data, is available on IP4 now and will be integrated into ComStock's other datafeed networks by spring. It offers 50 percent bandwidth savings from the full OPRA data service, which represents more than one third of all data carried on XpressFeed.

Commenting on ComStock's investment in the technological improvements in this area, Brukman says, "The cost is worthwhile. It is the investment we need to make and it is the only way to play in this space."