Categories: VoIP News

Most Want Something Other Then a PBX

The title of this blog post might be the most profound thing I have ever read about Asterisk.

Courtesy of Alec Saunders, I got wind of this post by Jay Phillips that goes into detail in regards to some of the current limitations of the platform as it looks to move from the innovator phase to the early adopter phase. While Jay makes some valid points about making Asterisk easier for the mainstream programmer to build off of, therefore growing their developer base and business, the most profound piece of his post, and what will be lost on most “fringe” telephony folks is Jay’s statement that when it comes to Asterisk,

“most want something other than a PBX”

If there is anything that our 101 things you can do with Asterisk contest proved, it is that Asterisk is being used for things other than it’s original intent – a phone system, due to the fact that you are free to do whatever you want with it. Many argue that Asterisk won’t don’t this or can’t do that, but at the end of the day Asterisk is about more then open source, telephony, developers and ease of use:

It is about the idea of creating something.

Asterisk is powerful because it evokes the thinker, the visionary, the entrepreneur in all of us. Asterisk challenges us to do things we never before thought were possible. It was a catalyst of a whole new way of thinking about telephony and gave down to an entire industry now filled with many projects that compete, work with and improve Asterisk. Asterisk will never satisfy everyone’s needs. It will never be the end all be all of open source telephony, but no project will ever achieve that because most people want something other than a PBX and in order to achieve that you need more than just a piece of open source software.

Garrett Smith

Garrett is the former VoIP Supply CMO.

View Comments

  • @martin

    Wish we could help. Vonage does not currently offer a WiFi phone and due to their closed network, they do not allow normal SIP based WiFi phones (like the ones VoIP Supply sells) on their network.

Share
Published by
Garrett Smith

Recent Posts

Watch Now: 2024 December VoIP News Update

https://youtu.be/vV0BDOCGiKs?si=jFrelg8-ddbcLhTC In the December VoIP News Update, two exciting developments in the VoIP space were…

3 days ago

Fanvil H5 Hotel Phone Product Feature & How to SIP Register to 3CX | VoIP Supply

https://youtu.be/UHKuBq0Pvuk?si=zS3KlwIkJz2-6vaq At VoIP Supply, we’re always excited to explore new solutions for businesses and industries,…

3 weeks ago

Fanvil X4U IP Phone Product Feature Video & Technical Tutorial

https://youtu.be/Wun3AMh_T08?si=fG3-TgyzrGT2gNIc In our latest video, we dive deep into the Fanvil X4U IP phone. Whether…

4 weeks ago

How to Prepare Your VoIP Systems for 2025

Remember Back to the Future II? I loved that movie because they traveled into the…

1 month ago

SIP Chats: Sharath Abraham of Jabra – Panacast 50, BYOD Solutions, and More!

https://youtu.be/qsNO-fZdY3U?si=1A2biOpTwvHG-wiB In the latest episode of SIP Chats, host Brian Hyrek sits down with Sharath…

1 month ago

Watch Now: 2024 November VoIP News Update

https://youtu.be/a--L6ZF9iAw VoIP Supply’s November VoIP News Update: Exciting New Tools, Upcoming Releases, and Giving Back…

1 month ago