The ATIS Cloud Services Forum (CSF) announced last week that it had conducted interoperability testing for a wide variety of video conferencing solutions designed to operate in a cloud environment.
AT&T and Verizon participated in the test using equipment from providers like Cisco, Lifesize and Polycom. Microsoft software was also used in the test.
According to ATIS president and CEO Susan Miller, the testing shows the potential for high-quality dynamics in face-to-face interactions. She also pointed out that ATIS expertise, along with the expertise of test participants, extended beyond just video conferencing technology.
“The expertise of ATIS members extends beyond these elements into the network and technologies that deliver cloud services,” Miller pointed out. “Solutions that evolve from this ecosystem perspective are essential to providing cost-effective immersive video conferencing services that are globally seamless, consistent and deliver excellence from the user’s perspective.”
The purpose of the CSF test was to prove that multiple endpoint types could communicate across networks. Some key performance criteria for the test included multiple screens, single screens with desktop video, encryption functions and content sharing.
Interoperability was achieved for both scheduled and unscheduled video conferencing sessions.
As browser-based WebRTC video conferencing technology develops, telepresence providers will have to work to keep their endpoint products relevant. Carriers like AT&T, however, have attempted to keep themselves relevant even as WebRTC pulls video, audio and text communications out of their revenue streams.
A post by Gary Kim on the Razorsight blog suggests carriers may work to shape WebRTC in ways that are advantageous to them. For example, Kim suggests that telecoms could tie WebRTC to SIP in some way, or try to use WebRTC to hang onto high roaming charges.
Still, both telecom providers and manufacturers of video conferencing software may have difficulty marketing their products when video conferencing through the WebRTC standard becomes native to Web browsers.
Edited by
Braden Becker
