Lorenzo Dalvit et al.
community user to become a paying customer. It also means that vendors may face a challenge in prioritizing developments to keep both user groups happy. The features demanded by one group may not match those demanded by the other. Dual licensing requires copyright to be assigned to the vendor, and can therefore limit community contributions. This means that vendors fail to enjoy the full benefits of open source development.
There are a number of examples of projects using dual‐licensing to involve an active open source community project in their product. In most cases vendors drive the product development and they steer usage of the product in a community through a reciprocal licence. Many of the companies faced financial losses while a community of users was being built up. This is because the software could be downloaded and used for free and so its use for commercial purposes was difficult to restrict. However, the sales of additional features and services generated revenue once the user base had been grown. MySQL AB is the company originally behind the hugely successful MySQL database software. They may be considered pioneers in the dual‐licensing model. Their database is in use in millions of applications around the world. MySQL received no revenue from many thousands of its users who are using the free LAMP stack to run their servers. MySQL had to rely on support contracts to monetize this community despite their dual licensing. The broad user base proved strength of the company. Wide adoption led first to corporates using the software and paying for it in licensing fees, and then a purchase by Sun Microsystems followed by Oracle.
A commercial licence will apply to governmental, non‐governmental and private entities who intend to use TeleWeaver as part of a solution to bring ICT in communities that cannot yet afford ICT. The licence entitles the holder to direct support. A free version will be available for non‐profit use, most likely under a reciprocal EPL licence. Based on( Fitzgerald 2006), reciprocal licences are preferable for both commercial licensing( where users are required to purchase software) and subscription( where users do not actually own the software).
5. Conclusion
In this paper we have presented TeleWeaver, an open‐source middleware developed by a South African based startup software house called Reed House Systems. TeleWeaver is specifically designed to support ICT use in marginalised communities in Africa. The software is part of an ecosystem including public funders, industry partners, academic institutions and an actual community of test users.
TeleWeaver proposes an innovative business model through which its presence will create revenue streams for the ICT installations that run it. As a result, ICT infrastructure is becomes more sustainable. Standardised services can all make use of similar shared services available on the platform which are easier to develop and easier to understand for operators who have to explain them to the users. Through the use of modern process technology, such as workflow systems, transparency can be added to the system.
Android is very similar to OSGi and is created by a commercial entity, Google. Android is a strong contender as an alternative basis for TeleWeaver for mobile devices( the two are to a large extent, compatible). It is licensed under the Apache Software Licence, excepting some Linux kernel patches which use GPL v2 for compatibility reasons.
Bonjour is a zeroconf networking software created by Apple Inc. which allows devices to automatically network with each other and requires a high degree of standardisation. It uses the Apache Software Licence. Bonjour is an add‐on to the Darwin open source kernel of Mac OS X.
Darwin is released under an Apple Public Source Licence, which is very similar to the Apache Software Licence, with the addition of the copy left requirement, that source code be made available to derivatives of the product. However, as an operating system, the product does not restrict one from using it as the basis of other non‐derivative products( i. e. products that are not operating systems but that perform fundamentally different tasks and simply use Darwin as a platform).
As in many parts of Africa, the most common telecommunication devices in the community are cellphones. TeleWeaver relies on the structures of RU and UFH for advice on legal matters. EKhaya ICT is an Eastern Cape Startup Company aligned with the vision underpinning ESTIMA. Besides its comparatively limited resources and experience, it contributes with technical management and views on business models and legal matters,
158