SPIRIT DSP observation: Microsoft VoIP W3C recommendation is incompatible with Google’s Version of the Plug-in Free Technology for in-Browser Voice and Video Communications

SPIRIT DSP, the world’s #1 voice and video over IP software engines provider serving more than 1 billion users in over 100 countries, today commented on Microsoft’s August  announcement of its own CU-RTC-Web recommendation for the W3C WebRTC working group, which is focusing on a common API to unify real-time P2P communications for web browsers. As experts expected, Microsoft’s recommendation for VVoIP (Voice and Video over IP) is not compatible with Google’s products for browsers nor to the corresponding WebRTC specification offered by Google.

Main market players fight for becoming a global de facto VVoIP standard. Microsoft and Google today develop non-standard VVoIP protocol stack software and offer incompatible communication products (including browser-focused ones) and services that work only within their own eco-systems. It is impossible to make an HD call from Skype to Google Voice&Video Chat or Hangouts without downgrading quality to PSTN. Moreover, Microsoft hasn’t yet succeeded in making its own Lync engine compatible with the lately acquired Skype. Promotion of the CU-RTC-Web specification by Microsoft might indicate the goal to make Skype the global internet communications standard, working both in PC browsers and on smart-phones for LTE cellular networks that telcos now quickly rollout worldwide.

“The fundamental conflict between Microsoft and Google strengthens Apple’s proprietary and incompatible FaceTime VVoIP platform, as well as SPIRIT DSP’s standards-based HD-voice and video software engines that are being licensed to telcos, video-soft-phone application developers and mobile OEMs,” said SPIRIT’s Chairman Andrew Sviridenko. “Telcos now strive to develop their own VVoIP services and are not interested in domination of Microsoft or Google VVoIP technologies on their native grounds.”

The world’s largest communication service providers are united as the GSMA, an association representing the interests of nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators spanning more than 200 countries. At Mobile World Congress 2012 held last February in Barcelona, telcos confirmed their commitment to the common cross-carrier RCS-e specifications for VVoIP, which SPIRIT DSP engines support. Telecom operators prefer to provide their own VoIP and videoconferencing services to prevent losing subscribers to Skype or Google, and to maintain their own brands as voice and video communications migrate to IP networks in OTT models.

Due to the lack of unified HD standards, developers of VoIP and videoconferencing software based on open source components have to release their products with capabilities limited only to certain browsers (like Google Chrome and Firefox) or OSs (including the various flavors of Android operating systems), making it extremely difficult to create cross-platform VVoIP HD communications products working without transcoding to Apple and Microsoft VoIP products and browsers.

Telecom providers clearly want their services to work on all popular smartphones and tablets, OSs and browsers, and SPIRIT is the only vendor providing such full compatibility in robust HD quality, including support for common GSMA-driven RCS-e specifications and VoLTE. SPIRIT engines and its VideoMost web-video-conferencing software support all browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Firefox, Opera), all popular OSs (Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android), as well as open standards such as SIP and XMPP, scalable adaptive HD voice codec SPIRIT IPMR (IETF RFC 6262), and ITU-T standards such as G.7xx, H.26x (including scalable H.264), H.323, and more.