In a bold move to accelerate next-gen IP communications application development, Bandwidth.com said it plans to expose its network functionality to open-source telephony developers.
The new Developer Sandbox Program, which was announced Wednesday at the ClueCon Open Source Telephony Developers Conference, will offer a select group of developers access to IP communications network functionality, such as next gen VoIP codecs, the T.38 fax protocol, SIP-enabled SMS and HD voice. In addition, fixed-mobile convergence functionality from Bandwidth.com technology partners CounterPath Corp. and Ditech Networks also will be part of the Sandbox program.
The program also will leverage the FreePBX open-source telephony project, which was acquired by Bandwidth.com in November 2008. Separately, the carrier announced Wednesday the availability of a Developer’s Preview of FreePBX v3, which serves as a basis for the GUIs in AsteriskNOW and Trixbox CE as well as other open-source PBX offers. Significantly, FreePBX v3 is telephony-engine agnostic, and able to support FreeSWITCH, Asterisk and others.
Todd Barr, vice present of marketing for Bandwidth.com, said both open-source initiatives mark an unprecedented push for collaboration with developers.
Unlike other open-source sponsors that are looking to commercialize their software, Bandwidth.com is driving development of applications that will use its network. “We are trying to get developers to build more unique applications and give them network functionality, so they can work on converged-type applications, not just something that’s on the premises,” he said, noting it’s not just about developing cool applications, but about understanding how those applications interact with the network and how Bandwidth.com can make it work better.
While other carriers like Ribbit Corp. have APIs for developers, Bandwidth.com said it is going a step further in offering access to network functionality using open standards. “We will provide an API, but we will also provide something a little more fundamental where you can use any programming language or open source project,” Barr explained.
