[Asterisk-Dev] Is there a need for a DS3 channel/driver?

[Chris A. Icide]

On 02:39 PM 11/20/2004, C. Maj wrote:
 >It's a tree-falling-in-the-woods dilemna.  Where's the
 >evidence ?  If you know these implementations exist, and
 >you've got proof, then just force them out of the closet
 >already.  I mean, if they are such giant entities, what's it
 >going to kill them to let everybody know that they are using
 >Asterisk ?  Otherwise, simply being suspicious of silent
 >portions that nobody knows about is evidence of nothing.
 >

I suspect the 'entities' using such implementations are doing so to make 
money.  Given that, there is a term known as 'barrier to entry'.  This term 
basically refers to the 'cost' that a competitor needs to expend to achieve 
a equal position in the market you are targeting.  Proprietary hardware and 
code (as well as the fact that they are using some open-source code) is 
something that falls into said 'barrier to entry'.  If a company out to 
make a profit creates hardware/code to support their offering, its only 
common sense that they are going to keep that code private.  Most large 
companies (and probably all public companies, as an officer who leaks 
proprietary information would be in trouble from the board of directors, 
and liable to a suit from shareholders, if they can prove said leak caused 
damage to the company's stock) out to make a profit don't care about the 
fact that they are using and modifying open-source code, they just care 
about the profit margin.

Perhaps Digium could change their licensing requirements, and allow use of 
the system for non-profit, research, development, and testing for free, but 
require a license fee for commercial usage of the system.  However, to put 
any hurt on the large companies, you would have to charge a large enough 
fee that small companies like nufone, voicepulse, voipjet, and all the 
other asterisk based commercial services out there would be severely 
hampered by the fee.

-Chris