"I predict that over next three years, VoIP using an open-source solution, such as Asterisk, will generate more business than the entire Linux marketplace today," said Hall.
Halls explained that the open-source project Asterisk provides a cheaper alternative to proprietary PBX solutions, which are used by many companies today to provide telephone services.
"Today's PBX solutions are incredibly expensive, closed source and proprietary. Asterisk is approximately one-tenth of the price of a proprietary PBX system," claimed Hall.
According to the Asterisk Web site, the software can interoperate with almost all standards-based telephony equipment using relatively inexpensive hardware and provides features such as voicemail services, call conferencing and call queuing.
Hall said to ZDNet UK that he expects numerous companies to start providing services for Asterisk, including installation, support and third-party applications.
Hall is not the first to predict a bright future for VoIP. Michael Robertson, the founder of SIPphone, which specialises in Internet telephony, said last week that he believes that VoIP will grow much faster than Linux, although he did not mention the role that open -source could play.
Talkback
A not-for Profit- limited company based in South Witham deep in rural Lincolnshire, South Witham Broadband Ltd operate a community wireless broadband service based on innovative Mesh network technology, delivering high speed broadband access to five villages, an area of approximately 20 sq miles. SWBB Ltd now have over 100 users! 56% of all web requests are served from the local community Mesh at 11Mb/s and don’t need to be downloaded from the internet which makes installation of software such as XP SP2 a breeze, local mail, WEB and FTP servers are deployed which vastly increases the speed of services for the local community. The Mesh is basically a high speed community WAN whose speed and services cannot be matched by large ISP’s deploying ADSL services. The network provides SWBB with the ability to utilise many types of internet feed such as multiple satellite systems, or a combination of satellite, ADSL, DSL, cable etc by using multiple gateways providing a backhaul neutral network, allowing SWBB Ltd to take advantage of new technologies and suppliers such as BT, NTL etc as the market evolves. New services are coming onboard such as low cost security cameras, intelligent CCTV services, community forums, local servers for games and multimedia, also shared capital facilities like high quality print and plot services.
We have developed an asterisk VOIP PBX system which is providing free/low cost telephony to anywhere in the world and are leading the way for other community broadband networks to implement the same.
what a load of old cobblers ! hard to believe a statement like that could be published - lets see now.
1. Asterisk is dependant upon Linux
2. Massive Asterisk growth = massive LINUX growth
3. less any dedicated standalone jobbies
4. so an explosive growth in ASTERISK would = an explosive growth in LINUX PLUS you would have Telecoms developers such as myselves opening our eyes to the world of LINUX - and become new users
Really a classic case of the "Cart before the horse !!)
HYPE etc - someone needs funding for something. sounds very MLM