diff --git a/jicofo-common/src/main/kotlin/org/jitsi/jicofo/OctoConfig.kt b/jicofo-common/src/main/kotlin/org/jitsi/jicofo/OctoConfig.kt
index 090e94b7ab..0046a9f4c5 100644
--- a/jicofo-common/src/main/kotlin/org/jitsi/jicofo/OctoConfig.kt
+++ b/jicofo-common/src/main/kotlin/org/jitsi/jicofo/OctoConfig.kt
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ class OctoConfig {
         "jicofo.octo.allow-mixed-versions".from(newConfig)
     }
 
+    val sctpDatachannels: Boolean by config {
+        "jicofo.octo.sctp-datachannels".from(newConfig)
+    }
+
     companion object {
         @JvmField
         val config = OctoConfig()
diff --git a/jicofo-selector/src/main/kotlin/org/jitsi/jicofo/bridge/colibri/Colibri2Session.kt b/jicofo-selector/src/main/kotlin/org/jitsi/jicofo/bridge/colibri/Colibri2Session.kt
index 0a388167b8..f5e196fd67 100644
--- a/jicofo-selector/src/main/kotlin/org/jitsi/jicofo/bridge/colibri/Colibri2Session.kt
+++ b/jicofo-selector/src/main/kotlin/org/jitsi/jicofo/bridge/colibri/Colibri2Session.kt
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
  */
 package org.jitsi.jicofo.bridge.colibri
 
+import org.jitsi.jicofo.OctoConfig
 import org.jitsi.jicofo.bridge.Bridge
 import org.jitsi.jicofo.bridge.CascadeLink
 import org.jitsi.jicofo.bridge.CascadeNode
@@ -326,7 +327,8 @@ class Colibri2Session(
         private val useUniquePort = initiator
         private val iceControlling = initiator
         private val dtlsSetup = if (initiator) "active" else "passive"
-        private val websocketActive = initiator
+        private val bridgeChannelActive = initiator
+        private val sctpBridgeChannel = OctoConfig.config.sctpDatachannels
 
         private val logger = createChildLogger(this@Colibri2Session.logger).apply { addContext("relay", relayId) }
 
@@ -382,10 +384,11 @@ class Colibri2Session(
                 logger.info("Setting setup=$dtlsSetup for $relayId")
                 it.setup = dtlsSetup
             }
-            // We always expect the bridge to advertise a websocket, but we want only one side to act as a client.
+            // The bridge always advertises a websocket if we're not using SCTP, but we want only one side to act as a
+            // client.
             // The bridge will always act as a client if the signaled transport includes a websocket, so here we make
             // sure it is only included to one of the sides.
-            if (!websocketActive) {
+            if (sctpBridgeChannel || !bridgeChannelActive) {
                 transport.getChildExtensionsOfType(WebSocketPacketExtension::class.java).forEach {
                     transport.removeChildExtension(it)
                 }
@@ -407,7 +410,8 @@ class Colibri2Session(
             put("use_unique_port", useUniquePort)
             put("ice_controlling", iceControlling)
             put("dtls_setup", dtlsSetup)
-            put("websocket_active", websocketActive)
+            put("bridge_channel_active", bridgeChannelActive)
+            put("sctp_bridge_channel", sctpBridgeChannel)
             meshId?.let { put("mesh_id", it) }
         }
 
@@ -484,6 +488,11 @@ class Colibri2Session(
                 Transport.getBuilder().apply {
                     setUseUniquePort(useUniquePort)
                     setIceControlling(iceControlling)
+                    if (sctpBridgeChannel) {
+                        val sctp = Sctp.Builder()
+                        sctp.setRole(if (bridgeChannelActive) Sctp.Role.CLIENT else Sctp.Role.SERVER)
+                        setSctp(sctp.build())
+                    }
                 }.build()
             )
 
diff --git a/jicofo-selector/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/jicofo-selector/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 65b6c08c87..ade74e5576 100644
--- a/jicofo-selector/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/jicofo-selector/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -320,6 +320,9 @@ jicofo {
 
     // Whether to allow bridges with different versions to be used in the same conference. Intended only for testing.
     allow-mixed-versions = false
+
+    // Whether bridge-to-bridge communication should use SCTP datachannels (as opposed to websockets)
+    sctp-datachannels = false
   }
 
   rest {