ATIS Advances High-Quality Video Communications at the Cloud Level
WASHINGTON — ATIS announced today that it will test full-scale interconnection and interoperability of leading telepresence solutions. Scheduled for completion in early fall, the testing’s initial phase is anticipated to demonstrate the technical viability of multiple telepresence endpoint types across networks, with the goal of prompting industry adoption of a solution that enables multi-provider, multi-vendor interconnection and interoperability. Participating in the testing are major service providers AT&T and Verizon and, for the first time, videoconferencing vendors Cisco, Huawei and Microsoft Lync will be testing their systems—some of the industry’s leading telepresence offerings—to demonstrate interoperability between solutions.
“With ATIS’ cloud-based approach, the goal ultimately is to ensure connecting the market’s different telepresence solutions will be as easy as roaming across networks on a mobile device today,” said ATIS President and CEO Susan M. Miller. “Video is the next voice. The interconnection and interoperability testing is an important first step providing the essential network layer specifications to make this world possible. Through ATIS, the elements of the ecosystem have come together to provide users a globally seamless and consistent telepresence experience.”
Specifically, ATIS’ work will provide a detailed test environment, with multiple functional tests within each scenario. Tests are separated into two broad categories: customer and service provider. Customer testing focuses on endpoint testing and the service experience for the end user; service provider testing addresses functionality and interoperability between infrastructure components. The initial phase will test basic interoperability to allow service providers to offer a consistent end-to-end telepresence experience across multiple vendor platforms. Subsequent phases will introduce enhanced telepresence features including video scaling; screen layout and presentation of 1, 2, 3 and 4 screen systems; and multi-point telepresence bridges. The objective is to confirm interoperability and to identify functional requirements that can enhance interoperability and the user experience.
ATIS’ approach advances how unified communications are delivered from the cloud. The ATIS architecture moves beyond core network integration and into the cloud portability required for commercial viability. Telepresence was chosen as the first application because of its driving business imperative. Beyond telepresence, the CSF will advance its work into all other types of media: video, voice and other protocols associated with media integration, such as rights management.
ATIS’ broad membership—representing almost 200 of the ICT ecosystem’s leading service providers, equipment manufacturers and software developers—contains a breadth and depth of technical expertise that extends far beyond telepresence into the network and technologies that deliver cloud services. Solutions that evolve from this ecosystem can help reduce the cost of telepresence services and deliver service excellence from the user’s perspective. The end goal: telepresence that emulates the real-time dynamics a user would experience in a face-to-face meeting, in terms of sound, video, audience motion detection and other factors.
About ATIS ATIS is the leading technology and standards development organization committed to advancing the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through market-driven solutions. Almost 200 companies actively engage in ATIS’ committees and forums, providing the technical leadership to address ICT’s leading challenges. Current work is focused on industry priorities including cloud services, IPTV, energy efficiency, IP-based and wireless technologies, quality of service, billing and operational support, emergency services, architectural platforms and emerging networks. In addition, numerous incubators, focus and exploratory groups address evolving industry priorities including over-the-top applications, cybersecurity, ehealth, the transition of the PSTN, device solutions and machine-to-machine communications.
ATIS is the North American Organizational Partner for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a member and major U.S. contributor to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio and Telecommunications’ Sectors, and a member of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL). ATIS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). For more information, please visit www.atis.org.
About the ATIS Cloud Services Forum Launched in 2011, ATIS’ Cloud Services Forum (CSF) focuses on the operators’ provision of cloud, and the development of a framework to build large-scale, high quality network and application services. CSF develops cloud-based standard interfaces, to core network functions, further enhancing the value of provider networks. Additionally, based on industry priorities, the CSF is developing business use cases for non-traditional provider services, with the goal of accelerating global inter-provider cloud capabilities. Learn more about ATIS’ Cloud Services Forum.
