Spectralink adds an asterisk

At VON last week in San Jose, Calif., Wireless voice-over-IP developer SpectraLink, which last month agreed to be acquired by Polycom, announced it has added support in its Wi-Fi-based and DECT-based wireless phone systems for interfacing with the open-source Asterisk IP PBX platform supplied by Digium.

SpectraLink's Wi-Fi-based NetLink Wireless Telephones and DECT-based KIRK systems have now been tested to work with Digium's Asterisk Business Edition platform, and SpectraLink is now part of Digium's Interoperability Partner Program. Digium is the inventor of the Asterisk open-source development toolkit.

“Adding a reliable wireless telephone provider to the Asterisk ecosystem is an important step in providing a comprehensive IP PBX solution for the enterprise market,” said Bill Miller, vice president of product management and marketing for Digium. “SpectraLink's support for open standards gives customers more choices for end points certified with Asterisk Business Edition.”

The Asterisk community continues to become a more relevant part of the overall voice-over-IP community as the small and medium-sized business markets for voice begin to open up (see related Guest Commentary on page 30).

Mark Spencer, Digium founder and chief technology officer, said in a keynote at VON last week that there are now more than 2 million users worldwide for the Asterisk code. He said the company has teamed with VON organizer Pulvermedia to launch Digium Asterisk World at the Fall VON, Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 in Boston.