On webco interoperability

Abstract

By contrast with the globally interoperable legacy telecom world, web-based communication services, which become front line actors in the interpersonal communication field, are founded on "walled garden" approaches. With the emergence of full-web technologies, driven by WebRTC, it is envisioned that these services can be made compatible and interoperable, possibly thanks to new enablers provided by telcos, to the benefits of consumers who would enjoy seamless reachability of their entire contact lists. Given the diversity of the concerned actors and their goals, we believe it is timely to review the question of service interoperability. We discuss the various levels of interaction, review benefits and hard issues, and make a proposal for a workable solution.

User Reachability in Islands of WebRTC Communication Apps

“…Today's communication tools of VoIP, Instant Messaging (IM), on web, or over-the-top apps are often based on open protocols, albeit in a service provider's``walled garden", which hinders reachability on another service, or locks the ecosystem [1][2][3]. WebRTC [4] for plugin-free browser-to-browser communication further makes it easy to create such silos [8]. Past user reachability e®orts roughly fall under three overlapping categories: pair-wise federation, global location service or multi-protocol apps.…”

“…Past user reachability e®orts roughly fall under three overlapping categories: pair-wise federation, global location service or multi-protocol apps. Pair-wise federation works for a few popular services, but does not scale with the growing number of WebRTC websites [5][6][7][8]. Lack of incentive to providers or less°e xibility in server-side translation further hinders this approach.…”

“…2); this freedom promotes innovation. Toutain et al [8] realize that users are overwhelmed by the number of communication apps and need a simple way to reach their contacts. They conclude that the user's contacts must be independent of the services.…”