A method and system of performing IP multicast includes a client at one of
many downstream networks that sends a request signal to an upstream
network via a return channel (e.g., the Internet), and the upstream
network sends the request to a media server. The media server, and for
live data, a media encoder, processes a media stream to generate a
real-time IP multicast communication that is output to a unidirectional
satellite that transmits the IP multicast communication to the client
without delay via the downstream network, and can convert the IP
multicast to unicast. The bidirectional return channel allows the source
to calculate billing information based on client usage statistics, and
transmits confirmation acknowledgement based on a confirmation request
from the upstream network. Because the routing configuration is
transparent to the rest of the network, the invention applies to
multi-hop networks on both sides of the satellite link.