Skype for Asterisk Has Been Killed Off

Perhaps one of the first victims of the Microsoft acquisition, Skype for Asterisk will no longer be supported after July 26. The tool enabled users of the open-source Asterisk PBX to integrate Skype into their system.

It was developed by a third-party, Digium, in partnership with Skype, but the now Microsoft owned VoIP service decided to not to renew the license which allowed Digium to distribute the tool.

"Skype for Asterisk will not be available for sale or activation after July 26, 2011," Digium announced.

"Skype for Asterisk was developed by Digium in cooperation with Skype. It includes proprietary software from Skype that allows Asterisk to join the Skype network as a native client," it explained.

"This change should not affect any existing users of Skype for Asterisk. Representatives of Skype have assured us that they will continue to support and maintain the Skype for Asterisk software for a period of two years thereafter, as specified in the agreement with Digium," the company added.

Skype for Asterisk showed up a few years ago leading to some excitement in the community. It enabled companies using an Asterisk server to send receive calls within the Skype network.

Now though, the product will be no more. Existing users will be supported for at least two more years, more if Skype decides to, however starting a couple of months from now, the software won't be available for sale anymore.

While the general feeling is that Microsoft had something to do with it, it could very well be that the move was decided way before the deal went through.

Perhaps the product was not generating enough revenue to justify its existence, or perhaps Skype was trying to focus more on its core products. It's too early to tell if this is a sign of an even more closed up Skype.