[Asterisk-Dev] OT - Regulatory hurdles for Zaptel and Japanese PRI

[Benjamin on Asterisk Mailing Lists]

On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 12:16:30 -0500, Steven Critchfield
<critch at basesys.com> wrote:
>
> While I am certain it could be possible to write a asterisk stand in
> application to hook up the J1 modified libpri to the zapata card for
> testing, would that be sufficient for when you take out the stand in
> code and put asterisk back in it's place?

The honest answer to that is "I don't know".

For anyone interested in Japanese PRI here is the URL to NTT's specs
(in English) ...

http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/ISDN/tech/spec/espec/index.html

> From the legal/moral side, not having anon CVS access is not close
> sourcing the software. Strictly speaking, the GPL doesn't require you to
> distribute your software to anyone. The GPL doesn't require you to give
> third parties your work. The GPL requires you give the code to anyone
> who has the binary. This last part is what usually allows third parties
> to get your work though and encourages the author to maintain a publicly
> available version.

I realise that but forking a J1 only version and taking it out of the
existing CVS tree is not something that should be taken lightly. I'd
rather prefer keeping everything together under one roof and still
comply with the rules for type approval if the two can be married
somehow.

> Please don't say you are close sourceing the software when all you
> really are going to do is squirel it away from public eyes while you get
> your approval done.

Making the prospective J1 driver closed source *initially* is just one
possible way to avoid any objections from the type approval body.

The trouble with this is that they won't come out and say "you have to
do these steps and we will approve your product". The approval agency
lives of fees that applicants pay them. Consequently, the big names
who put in tons of applications are the ones who fund the agency and
you might think of that as a conflict of interest within the agency.
Just that in Japan it is not perceived this way. It is not uncommon
that the guys who run government agencies are from the big companies
in their respective areas and sometimes they are on both the payroll
of the government and their "former" employer. Likewise, ex-government
agency guys get hired by the big vendors to lobby the agency through
their buddies who still work there. It's a nepotist system also known
as Japan Inc.

If those guys take a look at an application for a Zaptel card to get
type approval, they are very likely to pick up the phone and talk to
one or more of the big telecom manufacturers asking for guidance. If
the Zaptel card is seen as a thread to the domestic establishment,
then they will be on the look out for any reasons to turn down the
application. The explanation they give you may be misleading to keep
you off track.

In this situation, it is wise not to take any chances and give them as
little opportunity as possible to turn you down. If you submit an
application based on GPLed drivers, then this means you cannot try
again with closed source drivers afterwards. It might be better to
first try with closed source drivers. This is certainly an option that
has to be considered.

The bottom line is though that we don't know for sure what the best
approach is. All we know is that this needs to be done in a way that
doesn't ring alarm bells with protectionists.

There are agents who specialise in doing such applications for
companies who are unfamiliar with the process or who don't have any
lobbyists on their payroll. The advice we got from those agents is
that we should modify the Zaptel card and make sure the US card will
not work in Japan, then sell the Japanese card for 5000 USD instead of
500 USD. I guess you get the idea what these guys are up to over here.
It's all about turf protection.

You can't just walk in there and say "this is open source and here are
the new rules that go along with it". It is *them* who make the rules,
not us. We can either be smart and try to work the system, or we can
be riding on principles and bang our heads against a brick wall.

Anyway, I got a call today from Jim Dixon, the father of Zaptel. We
discussed the issue and concluded we should at least get J1 on Zaptel
working in the lab first, for which Jim has offered his assistance.
God bless him!

rgds
benjk
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