Asterisk is an open-source communications software project that provides a flexible private branch exchange (PBX) and toolkit for building voice, video, and unified-communications systems; its mission is to enable interoperable, standards-based telephony and to lower the cost and technical barriers for organizations to deploy custom communications solutions.
Typically supports policies that favor open standards and interoperability in telecommunications, promoting VoIP and real-time communications adoption, software freedom and open-source development, privacy and security safeguards for communications, and regulatory approaches that enable competition and innovation in telecom services.
Primarily funded through commercial sponsorship and support from its corporate steward (product sales, support contracts, and commercial modules), plus community contributions, sponsorships, and donations.
Commercial steward Sangoma Technologies (and formerly Digium), the FreePBX project and the broader Asterisk developer and user community, plus ecosystem partners and telecom equipment vendors.
Open-source software project with a commercial steward (telecommunications/software company)
