The open-source VoIP ecosystem thrives on innovation and community collaboration, yet misconceptions about popular platforms like ASTPP persist. As a leading VoIP billing and management solution, ASTPP has faced its share of myths from claims about discontinued development to doubts about its scalability. This blog addresses seven common misconceptions, separating fact from fiction to provide clarity for businesses evaluating their VoIP infrastructure options.

It’s essential for both users and contributors to separate fact from fiction. Understanding the real story behind ASTPP, its commitment to open source, the reasons for business decisions, and the breadth of its capabilities enables better adoption, smarter contributions, and stronger community engagement. Clarity not only dispels doubts but also helps users and businesses maximize the platform’s benefits and participate more meaningfully in its ecosystem.

ASTPP Myths – What You Really Need to Know

Myth #1: “ASTPP is no longer focused on the community edition.”

Truth: We never stopped. But sustaining open-source requires balance.

We’ve heard this one quite often, especially in recent years as our enterprise edition gained attention. The reality is, we’ve always supported the community edition, and we’re still doing so.

The difference today? We’ve had to become smarter about how we support it.

As usage grew, expectations also rose: people wanted faster updates, better documentation, support for scaling, and more integrations. All valid. But behind the scenes, it takes real resources to deliver that developer time, QA, infrastructure, security reviews.

So yes, we introduced an enterprise edition. But it’s not a replacement, it’s the fuel to keep the community edition alive and evolving. Many other open-source platforms follow this model because it works it allows teams like ours to reinvest in the ecosystem.

If you’re using ASTPP community edition, we’re glad and we’re still here for you.

Myth #2: “ASTPP is funded and backed by a big company.”

Truth: ASTPP is built by a small, passionate team, no external funding.

Let’s get real.

There’s a common assumption that ASTPP is backed by some large corporate or that we’re just an “outsourced” product under someone else’s brand. It’s not true.

We’ve bootstrapped this from day one. No VC funding. No giant corporation behind us. Just a lean team, lots of hard work, and a mission to make smart telephony solutions accessible and affordable to everyone.

What you see in ASTPP from the product to the community events, webinars, documentation, and support  is the result of years of sweat equity, commitment, and the belief that we can build something impactful without losing our values.

Myth #3: “Enterprise edition means ASTPP is no longer open-source.”

Truth: ASTPP is still open-source. Enterprise is an add-on, not a replacement.

One thing we’ve always believed in is transparency. The community edition of ASTPP is still open-source. You can download it, modify it, use it in your business and many people do.

The enterprise edition includes enhanced features, advanced scalability options, integrations, and priority support designed for companies who want more and are willing to contribute financially to get that level of service.

This model is no different from what Red Hat, Elastic, or GitLab do. They offer something valuable for free, and sustain it through enterprise-level value for those who need more.

So no — we’re not abandoning open-source. We’re protecting and growing it in a way that’s sustainable for the long haul.

Myth #4: “ASTPP is just another VoIP billing software.”

Truth: ASTPP is a full smart telephony platform not just a billing tool.

It’s easy to label ASTPP as “just billing software” after all, that’s how it started. But anyone who’s used it seriously knows we’ve moved far beyond that.

Today, ASTPP is a complete smart telephony platform that includes:

  • Multi-tenant architecture
  • Class 4/5 softswitch functionality
  • Fraud detection tools
  • SIP trunk management
  • Invoicing, routing, real-time CDR
  • Integration capabilities

And more…

We’ve worked with ISPs, VoIP carriers, call center operators, and managed service providers across the globe and the use cases are only growing.

If you haven’t looked at ASTPP in a while, you might be surprised by how far we’ve come.

Myth #5: “The community gives, but ASTPP doesn’t give back.”

Truth: Giving back is at the heart of everything we do it’s just not always visible.

One of the toughest things to hear is that “ASTPP doesn’t give back.” Because that couldn’t be further from the truth.

We’ve done:

  • Countless bug fixes contributed back into the repo
  • Community support in forums and direct messages

Webinars

  • Knowledge-sharing events
  • Continued updates to the community version
  • And now, an upcoming v7 release for the community!

But open-source doesn’t just work on give-use-repeat. It thrives when people give and give back. And that’s the spirit we want to reignite not just for ASTPP, but for the whole open-source telecom ecosystem.

We’re not asking for money. We’re asking for something more valuable:

  • Engagement. Feedback. Contributions.
  • Documentation, code fixes, feature suggestions.
  • And even just spreading the word.

If you’re benefiting from ASTPP, be part of the loop. Help the next person, like someone once helped you. That’s how true open-source works.

Final Thoughts

We get it — people will always have opinions. But as someone who’s been here since the beginning, I can tell you this:

ASTPP is still a community-driven project.
We’ve just matured into a platform that can serve both freedom-focused developers and mission-critical businesses.

We’re still building.
We’re still listening.
And we’re still in this with you. To learn more or explore ASTPP for your business, feel free to contact us today.