Operator trialing a WebRTC-based chat room it says is free, open to anyone, and secure through web-based peer-to-peer communications.

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

April 21, 2014

2 Min Read
NTT Opens a WebRTC Chat Room

Japan's NTT Communications is among the first operators to test out WebRTC in the form of a chat room that uses the peer-to-peer protocol to connect anyone with an Internet connection and supported browser.

The ICT division of NTT Group (NYSE: NTT) announced a free trial of the app, WebRTC Chat on Skyway, on Monday. WebRTC, or real-time communications, is a free, open-source project that turns supported web browsers into telephony engines so that devices can connect via IM, video, or voice chat.

NTT Communications Corp. (NYSE: NTT)'s version of the browser tech is an HTML5-based web page in which anyone can join, select an adorable avatar, and video chat with other participants. It might be a rather frivolous implementation, but NTT claims the technology is highly private in that it bypasses web servers and reduces operational costs for apps and service developers by minimizing server resources. The operator is also testing a feature of the tech that will compile and manage any communications logs from the sites in hopes of alleviating concern that P2P communications can be used for illegal data transfers.

Figure 1:

Why this matters
There's a lot of hype behind WebRTC, which has the support of Google and Mozilla, but it's another technology that operators are approaching tepidly. The power to turn any website into a telephony engine means new, richer ways to reach customers and a valuable role to play for partners that want to enable the call receiving functionality that only they can provide. NTT is among the first operators to trial the technology and could set the pace for others -- telco or webco -- to test the waters as well. (See WebRTC & the Rise of the WebCo.)

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— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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