As VoIP moves into the mainstream, certain trends are strengthening, such as the availability of open-source software; while others are changing, such as how international service providers are deploying VoIP.
The Internet Telephony Conference and Expo in Ft. Lauderdale this week is spotlighting these trends for more than 8,000 attendees at the Broward County Convention Center.
Open-source guru Mark Spencer, president of Digium Inc., says the company is not planning a major follow-on to the popular Asterisk open-source platform, but is still adding new features to the platform. “I think Asterisk as a platform has a lot of life in it,” he says. However, Asterisk users can look forward to new features such as integrating video. Digium has done a technology demo with Grandstream Networks Inc. showing video voice mail, and is working on tighter integration with video conferencing. The company also plans to boost the performance of its server to handle more calls.
Asterisk also is working to develop support for Google’s Jingle protocol for VoIP, developed with Jabber Inc. “Jingle runs on top of the Jabber protocol so any Jabber chat server now can carry VoIP,” says Spencer. “It’s a clever idea for how to mix chat, collaboration and voice.” He adds that he expects Google will soon offer SIP connectivity as well (the protocol is distinct from the SIP used by most VoIP providers).
Spencer emphasizes that Asterisk remains driven by the developers that contribute to the software, particularly users that are actually creating new features to solve deployment problems or meet end-user needs.
The conference also features for the first time a course for Asterisk certification.
Meanwhile, service providers around the globe continue to be one of the original and strongest markets for VoIP, using the technology to go around monopoly service providers and reduce international calling rates. Now, with VoIP becoming legal in an increasing number of countries, some of these same service providers as well as the incumbents with whom they compete are launching VoIP services grounded in their own countries to serve local consumers and businesses.
And the interest extends beyond VoIP to other multimedia IP services. One provider that will launch services soon plans to offer a hosted service that will allow mobile video users to set up video conversations with fixed IP endpoints. Other services deployed by international service providers include an application that provides TV programming with TiVo-like features.
Digium Inc. www.digium.com
Grandstream Networks Inc. www.grandstream.com
