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Skype Kills Open-Source Digium Asterisk VOIP PBX Support

Two weeks after Microsoft said it would acquire Skype, the voice over IP company has begun cutting its ties with the open-source world. Asterisk was the first partner cut loose. Skype decided not to renew its agreement with Digium, which allowed Asterisk, the open-source telephony system, to be integrated with the Skype service, Digium said […]

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Channel Insider Staff

May 26, 2011

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Two weeks after Microsoft said it would acquire Skype, the voice over IP company has begun cutting its ties with the open-source world. Asterisk was the first partner cut loose.

Skype decided not to renew its agreement with Digium, which allowed Asterisk, the open-source telephony system, to be integrated with the Skype service, Digium said May 25 in a letter to users. Digium is behind most of the work on Asterisk and sells commercial products based on the platform. Skype for Asterisk uses some proprietary code from Digium to connect the two products.

"It includes proprietary software from Skype that allows Asterisk to join the Skype network as a native client. Skype has decided not to renew the agreement that permits us to package this proprietary software,” according to Digium’s letter.

Skype for Asterisk sales and activations will end on July 26, but Skype has promised to continue supporting and maintaining the software for two more years. Skype may extend this time period “at their discretion.”

Many businesses and governments around the world rely on Asterisk for its free and flexible PBX to power their VOIP deployments. The integration with Skype gave access to low-cost voice and video calls without complex integration. After July 26, new Asterisk users will not be able to connect to the Skype network.

Skype may be moving away from Asterisk because Microsoft is expected to launch a Microsoft-hosted version of its Lync unified communications server this summer. Asterisk competes directly with Lync.

Digium may have seen this one coming, as the CEO predicted shortly after the $8.53 billion deal was announced on May 13 that Microsoft may “wall-off” Skype from competing products. Microsoft’s tendency toward “notoriously proprietary tactics” will slow the development of Skype as a business tool, Danny Windham, Digium’s CEO, wrote on the company blog.

“Microsoft plus Skype equals Microsoft,” Windham wrote.

For more, read the eWEEK article: Skype Ends Support For Open-Source Digium Asterisk VOIP PBX.

Skype Kills Open-Source Digium Asterisk VOIP PBX Support

Channel Insider Staff

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