By Chris Wendt, Comcast
This paper provides an overview and rationale for a vision of the future evolution of telecommunications services and how real-time communications can be provided as a more flexible web oriented service. WebRTC, a web browser focused framework for real-time communications, provides standardized client-side “hooks” which can be adapted for mobile, set-top box and other popular embedded clients. The larger question is how these client technologies can be used as part of a modern, web-friendly service framework. We at Comcast Labs are proposing a framework and perspective beyond traditional telephony services, defining how real-time communications can be customized and integrated for the variety of service contexts and devices we use in our personal and professional lives. Examples include: enhanced customer service, enhanced home monitoring and device control, interactive collaboration or shared experiences. This paper will propose and discuss a framework and architecture and provide the motivation why WebRTC plays an important role, and discuss why past attempts may not have been as successful, and why based on technology and network evolution, and device capabilities, this time might be different.