Analysis of Standards and Products for Desktop Teleconferencing.

Teleconferencing is a mechanism for supporting interactions among two or more people, where the participants are interacting at the same time but not all in the same place. Desktop teleconferencing requires that at least one of the participants is using a desktop computer system as the teleconferencing system. This document identifies the role of standards in teleconferencing, identifies existing and emerging standards, and points out areas where the standards activities are not yet coalescing. Many vendors have been, and promise to continue to be, quick to adopt standards as they stabilize. In areas where standards are not stable, there are proprietary products that do not provide interoperability. The document also identifies local area network LAN technology as one area where standards may not be enough to ensure the long-term viability of products, since there are numerous competing technologies and demands other than teleconferencing that will influence acquisition decision for LANs. DoD has officially adopted in a video teleconferencing profile some of the stable standards. This document recommends continued use of that profile for situations where it applies. The official profile, however, does not meet all DoD requirements. The document also provides recommendations on how to deal with other DoD requirements.