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Nortel Strong-Arms Open Source Vendor Fonality

Posted by kdawson on from the can't-be-better-than-ours dept.

leecidivo alerts us to Tom Keating's blog, where he writes about how Nortel forced a former subsidiary to return its open source-based phone system (Fonality) after the subsidiary went public with how happy they are with the Fonality phone system compared to Nortel. Quoting: "What happens when a VoIP blog (yours truly) writes about the fact that a former Nortel subsidiary (Blade Network Technologies) went looking for a new phone system, chose an open-source Asterisk-based solution from Fonality instead of using Nortel's own PBX and then agreed to go on record on the VoIP & Gadgets blog about why they made such a shocking decision? A) Nothing — it's a VoIP blog — who cares? Nortel is an $11 billion dollar company that certainly doesn't read blogs for their news. B) Nortel reads the blog post, is a little peeved, but other than some emails sent internally, no one outside Nortel would ever know they were annoyed. C) A Nortel Board Member flips out over the article, contacts Blade and then pressures Blade to return the Fonality system and have Fonality print a retraction to the blog article (and the subsequent press release)."

3 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. The guy didn't follow the PR policy by winkydink · · Score: 5, Informative

    Every company I have worked at has a formal PR policy that says you cannot go on the record with the press (which is any time you are talking to them, if you are smart about it), you must clear it through PR. In some cases, once PR realizes that you're savvy enough to not say stupid things, they will put you on the "OK to contact directly" list.

    Violating the company's PR policy is a big deal, for the obvious reasons. I'm surprised that the IT Director is still employed there.

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

    1. Re:The guy didn't follow the PR policy by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Informative

      Violating the company's PR policy is a big deal, for the obvious reasons. I'm surprised that the IT Director is still employed there.

      You're making a ridiculous, unfounded statement. As per the article, they followed the procedure, and at least per the article, did not deny it.

      There is nothing in the article that indicates that anyone did anything wrong until the point at which they (Blade) announced that they had changed their mind.

      You have no reason to believe that he DID violate their PR policy.

      Until you do, please label all your speculations as such.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  2. PBXtra is not Open Source by KodaK · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes, PBXtra is based on Asterisk, but it is a licensed closed-source derivative of the Asterisk code.

    You can not have the source for PBXtra. They'll give you the Asterisk code before they apply their patches, but they won't give you the source for their interface or their changes.

    They might if you buy their product --I don't know, I've never bought it, but you are certainly not allowed to distribute the product to someone else after you buy it.

    Just sayin'.

    Anyway, Trixbox is FOSS. But PBXtra -- no.

    --
    --J(K) DOS is like Unix in exactly the same way that a pinto is like an aircraft carrier.