I found out about Bellster from Slashdot. Reading Jeff Pulver’s overview on VoIP Watch and the bellster site I am *VERY* excited. I proposed a similar idea to a few friends and on #sclug back in June but nobody seemed to excited. When I explained it I used TPC‘s example for free faxes over the internet as an analogy for what I wanted to see with VoIP. I was planning to run this by the folks on the SCALE VoIP panel next month.
Bellster isnt exactly what I had hoped would happen. I was hoping for something more open that didnt necessarily require the end user to donate lines, but I realize now that this requirement is important at the start to make sure the needed lines are added to the system before the rush of non-contributing users comes in. Systems like Bellster will revolutionize the telcom industry even more so than Vonage’s offerings. Assuming you can find users in every country nobody should ever have to pay for more than local phone service and net access because every call is a local call somewhere. Long distance is a thing of the past now I want my “NO DISTANCE” calling plans.
