Internet has done marvel in communication. It has made it ridiculously cheap and accessible to all. One of the bye products has been disastrous effect on the telephone companies. Their expansive and ancient copper and lately optical networks have competition with modern and high speed internet. Telco network is proprietary while internet is open and egalitarian. It allows innovation from millions of people. One of the innovations was carrying of telephone signals on internet, by passing Telco networks. These signals are carried through VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol).
In 1999 a young man, Mark Spencer of Huntsville, Alabama, built a telephone virtual PBX. PBX (Private Base Exchange) is equivalent to the telephone company boxes each business had in order to perform switching of messages. It delivers phone calls to right extension, provides voice mails and has databse to store content. Virtual PBX was developed on free Linux system and he allowed free on internet on any one to down load. Currently million of these PBXs are working in private homes, offices, businesses. It spawned the telephone card industry. Entrepreneurs set up PBX s and allowed users to make calls for fee. I myself have a PBX running in my home for personal use.
The concept of MuslimServ Information Line is to utilize the enormous benefit of VOIP for the benefit of Muslims. By programming PABX one can make available data from database in the form of sound at the end of telephone. One can conceive it as an acoustical web site. By combining it with visual web site, we bring it to many many more Muslims who do not feel comfortable with visual internet. It will have nation wide scope and will be completely free to the users. We will be asking for donation on line.
We can place almost any content; be they religious, cultural or communal. The first content comes to mind is masjid prayer times, Eid announcements. One could select a city and access any particular masjid or find out about meetings, social happenings etc. We will permit registered users to upload content, such as prayer times etc. We may even have selected Muslim advertising. Therefore there is possibility of content is huge.
Operating cost will be negligible; fraction of cents per minute.
What is needed is programming cost and some equipment cost. Insha Allah Muslims will provide us a way to accomplish that.
