01750nas a2200121   4500008004100000022001400041245004400055210004400099260004200143520139300185100001501578856003501593       2007                        eng d  a1913-610200aOpen Source Telecommunication Companies0 aOpen Source Telecommunication Companies  aOttawabTalent First Networkc08/20073 aLittle is known about companies whose core business is selling telecommunications products that lever open source projects. Open source telecommunications (OST) companies operate in markets that are very different from typical software product markets. The telecommunications market is regulated, vertically integrated, and proprietary designs and special chips are widely used. For a telecommunications product to be useful, it must interact with both access network products and core network products. Due to specifications in Service Agreements Levels, penalties for failures of telecommunications products are very high.

This article shares information that is not widely known, including a list of OST companies and the open source projects on which they depend, the size and diversity of venture capital investment in OST companies, the nature of the commercial product-open source software and company-project relationships, ways in which OST companies make money, benefits and risks of OST companies, and competition between OST companies. Analysis of this information provides insights into the ways in which companies can build business models around open source software. These findings will be of interest to entrepreneurs, top management teams of incumbent companies that sell telecommunications products, and those who care about Ontario's ability to compete globally. 
1 aLiu, Peter  uhttp://timreview.ca/article/82