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P2P Meets PSTN, With Bellster

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the marsgram dept.

flinderhans writes "Jeff Pulver, the guy who started Free World Dialup (free VoIP network) and had the germ of the idea that turned into Vonage, has launched a P2P network called Bellster that allows users to share their private lines to make calls anywhere on the public-switched telephone network. Interesting stuff, even if it doesn't look quite ready for prime-time."

9 of 173 comments (clear)

  1. I remember something like this for bbses by krudler · · Score: 3, Informative

    using a phone line on a bbs to call *another* bbs that was out of your long distance range. Cool oldschool stuff :)

  2. Re:Costs by ibpooks · · Score: 4, Informative

    Also, the US is the only place i've lived where local calls were free.

    They usually aren't exactly free. Typically if you read the fine print, there's some deal where the monthly service will include 400 or 500 local calls "free", and then you pay through the nose for additional local calls. I would bet these clauses are there to specifically prevent a re-seller situation like this. An open public line could probably hit the 500 call mark rather quickly.

  3. what if you pay for minute on local calls? by spectro · · Score: 3, Informative

    The idea is great for the US where you have flat rate local calls, however I see it will very diffictult to find somebody volunteering their phone lines in South America or any country where greedy phone companies like Spain's Telefonica run the show. In there you pay per minute for you local calls and I can see somebody's phone bill growing exponentially.

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  4. Re:Germ of an idea by Dynastar454 · · Score: 2, Informative

    germ, n.

    1) Biology. A small mass of protoplasm or cells from which a new organism or one of its parts may develop.
    2) The earliest form of an organism; a seed, bud, or spore.
    3)A microorganism, especially a pathogen.
    4) Something that may serve as the basis of further growth or development: the germ of a project.

    See #2, #4. The usage is correct.

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    Laugh at stupidity: mod idiots +1 Funny.
  5. Re:"Free" with a big cost by mwilliamson · · Score: 3, Informative

    You can run asterisk on a linksys wrt54g, linked with a sipura voip adapter and that is all you should need. $200 and you're there.

  6. Land lines by elgaard · · Score: 2, Informative

    Nice idea, but I don't believe it will work.

    1. Local calls are not free in most of the world. This limit the use for long-distance calls.

    2. Most people into this kind of stuff will be dropping their land line and use pure VoIP (including IP->PSTN service) + cell phones.

    I live in Denmark and switched to VoIP (musimi.dk).
    IP-IP calls are 0 c/min. Including calls to FWD, SipPhone etc.
    Local PSTN calls are 2.5 c/min (1.6 at night).
    DK->CA PSTN calls are 2.9 c/min
    DK->US PSTN calls are 3.2 c/min
    Subscription is $1/month/phonenumber.

    Of course I wouldn't mind using Bellster to make free calls to the US/Canada, but I cannot offer much in return.

  7. Re:Once you have an asterisk box you might not car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    The funny thing is that once you have an asterisk box working you can hook up to some very cheap VOIP providers (much cheaper than the phone company or even the "retail" VOIP providers)

    Please elucidate. Which other VOIP providers are you referring to?

  8. Re:"Free" with a big cost by spiritraveller · · Score: 2, Informative

    wrt54g is a router made by Linksys. It runs a version of Linux, and several third parties have made their own versions of its firmware, adding various features... one of which is apparently the Asterisk PBX. VOIP is voice over internet protocol, which means any way of having a voice conversation over the internet. The sipura voip adapter is one way of making voice calls on the internet.

  9. Asterisk is more accessible than suggested by roderickm · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yes, there are privacy and security concerns that stem from Bellster -- what happens when a bomb threat is called in using a Bellster route? -- but these are questions that must be answered as voice and data truly converge. Bellster is a disruptive technology, and Jeff Pulver is all about that.

    However, you set the barrier to entry way too high: Asterisk doesn't require a shiny new "PBX-ready" PC. You can choose any of the following bootable CDs to turn any old PC into an Asterisk box with just a Control-Alt-Delete. Not a PC fan? Asterisk now runs on Mac OSX, too. Now the only real barrier is the hardware, an FXO interface to connect to your POTS line. Just such an interface is reasonably priced at Digium.com, the makers of Asterisk.

    Bootable Asterisk CDs:
    http://knopsterisk.com/
    http://www.automate d.it/asterisk/
    http://www.xorcom.com/rapid/
    http ://www.osdisc.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi/products/li vecd/asterisklive

    Don't want to spend all that just to join the free love revolution that Bellster hopes to be? Well, Asterisk has tons of other uses, like being a PBX for your home or office, too. Set up mailboxes for each member of the office or household. Email an incoming voice message automatically. Zap the telemarketers that don't pay attention to the do-not-call list. The list goes on as far as your imagination: Asterisk makes computer telephony accessible to everyone with a computer. Even if Bellster isn't the future of telephony, Asterisk is.