G729 Bulk License

Asterisk Asterisk Support
1

Does anyone know if there is a bulk licensing or a one time license fee for G729. Instead of registering every time I build a product?

2

Howdy,

Digium, under our arrangement with the G.729 consortium, does not have the rights to provide a one-time site-wide license for usage of G.729. We’re required to license it on a per-channel basis.

Cheers.

Note, Edited to reflect that we can’t license it site-wide and that we have to do so on a per-channel basis. The original posting was a bit unclear on that bit.

3

Ok understood.
Let me ask this in a different way.
If someone was building a PBX product and this needed to have 10 channels on every system that went out the door. We would need to purchase 10 license for every PBX.

Are there any alternatives to this?

4

Howdy,

If you need 10 channels of G.729 transcoding for Asterisk, then you will have to register a 10-channel key on every one of them.

The alternative is to both:

  1. Not use Asterisk, instead using something that isn’t GPL’d and for which you have the rights to link proprietary software or for something that is GPL’d but for which you yourself maintain the copyright and can link non GPL’d code without violating the license
    and
  2. Acquire your own license from the G.729 consortium.

The Digium per channel rate is very reasonable in light of having to satisfy both points. The licensing itself is a bit more cumbersome than simple free software, but that is the nature of proprietary product (G.729), restriction.

5

We can install g.729 from intel

6

Howdy,

You can, if you’re in the position of:

  1. Possessing a license from the G.729 consortium.
  2. Possessing a license from Intel to use their code.
  3. Not distributing binaries of the codec or providing contributory means of infringement or violation of the GPL.

Without all three, you’re in the wrong.

Cheers.