Table of Contents
Thoughts on Free Communication
Mithat Konar
Copyright © 2012 Mithat Konar. All rights reserved.
Motivation
- Mobile data is almost ubiquitous.
- Makes it possible to contemplate a libre alternative to telecoms.
- Communication means should be:
- decoupled from the data provider(s).
- controlled by the user, not the provider.
Criteria
- You should have the option to self-host the service.
- Ideally FOSS.
- If self-hosting not possible, then an open API is possibly acceptable.
- Open standards
- End-to-end encryption
Criteria
- The service(s) should offer:
- voice communication
- text messaging
- video communication
- Until critical mass is attained, incoming/outgoing POTS bridge is arguably mandatory.
Some options
- XMPP + Jingle
- SIP
- Integrated providers (Skype, Google Voice, TruPhone, etc.)
Evaluation
- XMPP + Jingle
- Self-hosting: yes
- Voice: yes
- Text: yes (not SMS)
- Video: yes
- POTS: no (I think)
Evaluation
- SIP
- Self-hosting: yes
- Voice: yes
- Text: yes
- Video: ?
- POTS: yes (provider dependent)
Evaluation
- Integrated providers
- Self-hosting: no
- Voice: yes
- Text: yes (some providers offer SMS as well)
- Video: yes
- POTS: yes
- Comments:
- Skype uses closed-standard and proprietary codecs. Others may also.
Evaluation (tabulated)
| Self-hosting | Voice | Text | Video | POTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XMPP + Jingle | yes | yes | yes | yes | no? |
| SIP | yes | yes | yes | ? | yes† |
| Integrated providers | no | yes‡ | yes†† | yes | yes |
†Provider dependent
‡Skype uses closed-standard and proprietary codecs. Others may also.
††Some with SMS
Conclusion
- XMPP + Jingle: Limited by lack of POTS bridge
- SIP: ?
- Integrated providers:
- Not free
- Open APIs available for some.
- Some (most? all?) use closed/proprietary codecs.
- No self-hosting