WebRTC Threats & Benefits Will Change the Telecom Landscape, Heavy Reading Finds

NEW YORK, July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- WebRTC (Real-Time Communications) – a draft application programming interface (API) standard that supports browser-to-browser applications for voice calling, video chat and peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing without plugins – may provide many benefits, but definitely poses some threats to telcos, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading Insider (www.heavyreading.com/insider), a subscription research service from Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com).

WebRTC: Get Ready for the Next Telecom Revolution provides a current view of the developing WebRTC environment, focusing on the nascent standard's likely impact on telecom network operators. It offers an overview of the types of applications that are likely to develop using WebRTC technology, along with examples of some early-stage apps now available. The report also identifies and analyzes the primary threats and opportunities that WebRTC poses to telecom carriers and explains the key technology underpinnings of WebRTC and how those underpinnings differ from previous attempts to establish IP-based real-time communications, such as IMS. It also presents an early-draft taxonomy of WebRTC vendors and profiles 11 leading suppliers in the market.

For a complete list of companies covered in this report, please click the following link: http://twimgs.com/audiencedevelopment/LRHR/PDFS/hri0614_companies.pdf

"Perhaps the most powerful thing about WebRTC is that, when implemented in a Web browser, voice and video telephony applications can be developed in JavaScript," says James Crawshaw, contributing analyst with Heavy Reading Insider and author of the report. "Hence WebRTC has the potential to enable armies of developers to create their own real-time communications apps in a way that has not been possible until now."

WebRTC is both an opportunity and a threat for telcos, Crawshaw says. "The threat is clear: consumers and enterprises could increasingly turn to the Web for their voice and video communications, dispensing with conventional telecom services," he continues. "However, public switched telephony network (PSTN) bypass is not a new threat to carriers, and in many ways WebRTC is more of a threat to over-the-top (OTT) players like Skype than it is to telcos."

Key findings of WebRTC: Get Ready for the Next Telecom Revolution include the following:

• WebRTC is a draft API from W3C that supports voice and video in the browser without plug-ins or dedicated software.
• WebRTC should enable millions of JavaScript developers to create innovative telephony applications for enterprises and consumers.
• WebRTC poses both an opportunity and a threat for telcos – the threat is clear; the opportunity, less so.
• Ubiquitous browser support and debates over video and signaling technology have somewhat stymied WebRTC.
• The pace of development of Web standards far exceeds that of telecom.
• WebRTC looks set to take off, and telecom operators should prepare now.
• Consulting services will be a large opportunity initially, as telcos and enterprises try to figure out how to make money from WebRTC.

WebRTC: Get Ready for the Next Telecom Revolution is available as part of an annual single-user subscription (12 issues) to Heavy Reading Insider, priced at $1,995. Individual reports are available for $900 (single-user license).

To subscribe, or for more information, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/insider. For more information about other Heavy Reading Insider research services, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/research.

To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:

David Williams
Global Director of Sales, Research
Heavy Reading
858-829-8612
[email protected]

Press/analyst contact:
Dennis Mendyk
Vice President of Research, Heavy Reading
201-587-2154
[email protected]

About Heavy Reading

Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com), the research division of Light Reading, offers deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators, technology suppliers, and investors. Its product portfolio includes in-depth reports that address critical next-generation technology and service issues, market trackers that focus on the telecom industry's most critical technology sectors, exclusive worldwide surveys of network operator decision-makers that identify future purchasing and deployment plans, and a rich array of custom and consulting services that give clients the market intelligence needed to compete successfully in the global telecom industry.

About Light Reading

Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) combines its research-led online communities and targeted events portfolio to help those in the global communications industry make informed decisions. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for telecom analysis for more than 350,000 subscribers each month, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading produces targeted communications events and focused one-day conferences each year for cable, mobile, and wireline executives across five continents.

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SOURCE Heavy Reading