NTT Communications (NTT Com), the ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT Group , Tuesday announced that it has added Traversal Using Relays around NAT (TURN) functionality to SkyWay, its open platform that enables application/service developers to easily use Web-based (browser) real-time communications (WebRTC) in cases where P2P communication with WebRTC communications are disabled by network components such as NATs and firewalls.
The platform will be made available on a trial basis for service developers and providers on NTT Com's GitHub page beginning January 27. NTT Com expects to release an official version of SkyWay with TURN after conducting the current trial to accumulate operational knowhow regarding TURN for improved functionality and reliability. NTT Com launched the NTT Com HTML5 Laboratory (HTML5 Lab) to promote the development of ICT services with HTML5 in July 2013. HTML5 Lab is leading the Skyway and TURN function services.
TURN enables WebRTC to be used without P2P communication by transmitting data through servers. It allows more flexible communication systems capable of using WebRTC to be constructed in corporate network environments where P2P communication is rendered unavailable due to certain network configurations, such as the network address translation (NAT) method with strict security policies.
According to NTT Com, corporate users and service providers can now use SkyWay incorporating the TURN protocol as a cloud computing service without having to prepare additional server resources or install applications in an WebRTC server for P2P communication. NTT Com believes WebRTC will be adapted easily to existing Web services and intra-company information systems because it is an open technology.