Sydney, AUSTRALIA – January 19, 2012 – AARNet today announced that
it has become the first research and education network to join the Open Visual Communications Consortium™ (OVCC™).
By participating in this forum AARNet will extend its leadership in the video collaboration
and communications space, working with global partners to drive video interoperability
across the communications environment.
The OVCC™
is the first visual communications environment based on open standards, linking
service provider networks globally. Members are working together to establish a
multi-network, multi-vendor environment, delivering consistent, interoperable
video experiences. This will provide
greater flexibility for connecting research and education communities with
industry and government sector between geographically dispersed user
communities.
At
a local level, OVCC™ membership will allow AARNet to extend the scope of its telepresence and
video conferencing services. By integrating with the OVCC™ services, AARNet can provide clients with
access to an intelligent call routing infrastructure around the globe.
Customers will be able to participate in conferences that are hosted on AARNet
and connect with international partner networks – enabling video conferencing
to work seamlessly across multiple carriers.
“AARNet
is proud to be the first research and education partner to join the OVCC™,”
said Chris Hancock, Chief Executive Officer at AARNet. “The growth of
telepresence has historically been stifled by interoperability and connectivity
challenges. However, by working with our OVCC partners we hope to remove the
barriers to ubiquity and open the door
to hassle free faster video collaboration with partners and customers.”
AARNet has
been instrumental in leading the roll out of cloud based video conferencing,
streaming and recording services in Australia through its National Video
Conferencing Service. The organisation has strategically adopted multivendor
platforms to enable endpoint-agnostic video services. Its operational proficiency
makes AARNet well placed to advise on interoperability issues across national
and international networks. OVCC™ membership will enable AARNet to extend the
benefit of its expertise beyond the research and education community, providing
specialist knowledge to wider consortium partners.
“AARNet has a rich background in developing and operating
multi-vendor video environments. We are excited to be participating in the OVCC™
where we can draw upon this expertise and share insights with OVCC™
partners to drive advances in interoperable visual communications product and
service development around the globe,” said James Sankar, AARNet’s Applications
and Services Director.
About AARNet
AARNet
Pty Ltd (APL) is the company that operates Australia's Academic and
Research Network (AARNet). It is a not-for-profit company limited by
shares. The shareholders are 37 Australian universities and the CSIRO.
AARNet provides high-capacity leading edge Internet services for the
tertiary education and research sector communities and their research
partners. AARNet serves more than one million end users who access the
network through local area networks at member institutions. For further
information, please visit: www.aarnet.edu.au
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Contact:
Almira Anthony
Max Australia
+61 2 9954 3492
almira.anthony@maxaustralia.com.au