It’s another bubble that will burst. The number of companies and entering the content delivery network space is not sustainable, says Dan Rayburn, director of Streaming Media and an authority on the content delivery network business.

According to Dan’s reckoning, some $282 million in venture funding has been raised over the past 12 months for CDN players in an industry that has total revenue of $450 million in the U.S.  He says a dramatic consolidation is inevitable within the next 18 months.

Not cheery news for the industry gathered at the Streaming Media East show in New York this week.  I interviewed Dan yesterday.

— Andy Plesser