News – ClueCon Developers Conference – VoIP / WebRTC / Telecom

July 23, 2024

What to Expect from the 20th Anniversary Edition of ClueCon

ClueCon 2024 is only a few weeks away! Join us at the iconic Drake Hotel in Chicago from August 12th-15th to celebrate 20 years of technological innovation and community.

ClueCon was founded in 2005 by a team of Asterisk developers to bring together open-source telecom projects in one place. By the second year, the team had developed FreeSWITCH (you read that right – ClueCon came first)! Today, ClueCon continues to inspire collaboration in communication technology, providing resources for FreeSWITCH and other open-source telecom projects.

If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late to register! Here’s what to expect from this year’s milestone conference:

Monday: The Coder Games Hack-a-thon

ClueCon begins on Monday with the Coder Games hack-a-thon, hosted by Abbi Minessale. Both coding and non-coding challenges are available so those of all skill sets can participate. Whether you want a break from programming, or you want to flex your skills, you can team up and build your way to some awesome prizes.

If you’re looking to do some coding, the Maker Challenge is for you. This year, we’re building cars and challenging you to a battle royale-style deathmatch! The last balloon standing wins, so don’t forget your building and driving skills at home.

If you need a break from writing code, get ready for the FreeCYCLED Hacks challenge, where you’ll have to make a Rube Goldberg Machine entirely from household materials.

This year’s SignalWire Challenge winners will be given a cash prize for building with SignalWire’s AI technologies. Projects must use SignalWire’s AI tools and include a GitHub repo, a complete readme file, and a staff review at the conference. No presentation is required!

But the day isn’t all about coding and competition. Monday will also feature a FreeSWITCH lunch & learn session to kick off the week. This workshop will offer a comprehensive introduction to cover everything from installation to configuration, hosted by Brian West and Luca Pradovera.

End the day with the Welcome Dinner at Giordano’s, where you can enjoy Chicago’s famous deep-dish pizza, a fantastic view of the city, and networking opportunities with your fellow attendees.

Tuesday: Celebrating Two Decades of ClueCon

Tuesday marks the start of three days of presentations, beginning with a keynote by Anthony Minessale, FreeSWITCH founder and SignalWire CEO.

The day continues with more presentations, and at lunchtime, check out the Kamailio workshop hosted by Daniel-Constantin Mierla. This session will cover SIP Transport Layer Gateway with Kamailio and teach you how to build a transport layer gateway with Kamailio, with tips and tricks to make it secure and scalable.

As the conference day comes to an end, we’ll be shifting from presentations to the AI roundtable. Many leaders in the industry are implementing AI into their products, or thinking long-term about how to leverage this powerful tech. During this session, industry experts will discuss the transformative impact of AI on the telecommunication industry. Bring your questions for Anthony Minessale, Jeff Pulver, Kristian Kielhofner, Diego Gosmar, and James Tagg.

After the conference day, the festivities begin! We’re celebrating ClueCon’s 20th anniversary with a themed Gigabit Reception. Wear your favorite ClueCon shirt from over the years, and enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and games. Bring your favorite instrument if you want to take part in the annual jam session, or jump in with a mic for the highly-anticipated ClueCon karaoke.

Wednesday: The Annual Casino Night

Wednesday will be a full day of presentations spanning various topics. At mid-day, enjoy the SignalWire workshop over lunch, where you can learn about using SignalWire cloud features on top of your FreeSWITCH.

At the end of the conference day, we’re discussing FreeSWITCH with Anthony Minessale, Brian West, Michael Jerris, Chris Rienzo, and Jakub Karolczyk. These founders and core developers will be gathering for a roundtable about how FreeSWITCH helped shape telecom and where they envision the industry going next.

As the evening approaches, get ready to roll the dice at Casino Night! We’re going back in time to the 1920’s, the decade when the Drake was built. Arrive in style with fashion inspired by mobsters and flappers, get yourself a cocktail, and enjoy craps, roulette or blackjack. This event also features the annual Poker Tournament hosted by World Poker Tour Champion Phil Gordon!

Thursday: Dangerous Demos

As the 2024 conference draws to a close, the presentations continue, offering one last round of talks. Lunch will include a Homer workshop hosted by Jachen Duschletta to discover Homer 10 and its integration with Observability.

At the end of the day, brace yourself for the classic Dangerous Demos competition hosted by James Body. This annual favorite showcases cutting-edge, experimental, and sometimes even outrageous demos that will leave you astonished. Will you impress the audience, or crash and burn?

And finally, the end of the week will bring the moment everyone is waiting for: the grand prize drawing for the custom-engraved MacBook. Will luck be on your side? There will be many chances throughout the week to gather raffle tickets, so get as many as you can!

Celebrate 20 Years of ClueCon with the FreeSWITCH Community

Whether you’re a developer, entrepreneur, or tech enthusiast, ClueCon is a must-attend event that will expand your horizons and connect you with like-minded developers. Stay up-to-date on all things ClueCon and get exclusive deals by making sure you’re signed up for the FreeSWITCH newsletter.

See you at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, August 12th to 15th!

July 11, 2024

Celebrating 20 Years of Innovation and Community at ClueCon 2024

Immerse yourself in the cutting-edge world of open-source and telecom at ClueCon 2024! Join us from August 12th-15th, 2024 at the Drake Hotel in Chicago for a celebration of our 20th anniversary.

Developers, engineers, and business leaders alike will find opportunities to connect with industry pioneers, enhance their skills in hands-on workshops, and compete in our annual hackathon: the Coder Games. Expect insightful keynotes, exciting product demos, and laid-back networking events to meet your peers.

A Look Back at ClueCon’s Origins

Founded in 2005 by a team of Asterisk software developers, ClueCon aimed to gather various open-source projects into one place. The event quickly became a hub for innovation and collaboration in open-source communications.

By its second year, the ClueCon team had developed FreeSWITCH, a new open-source communication application that remains a core part of the conference. Today, ClueCon continues to inspire and push the boundaries of technology and communication.

Anthony Minessale, FreeSWITCH founder and SignalWire CEO, highlights the significance of ClueCon: “That first ClueCon in 2005 was critical in getting the decisions made that led to FreeSWITCH. In the 20 years of ClueCon: FreeSWITCH was developed, SIP and Portable mobile base stations were made viable, WebRTC was born, and we went to pure video to overcome a pandemic. There is no better way to show support for all the years of open-source work than to come to ClueCon and participate in figuring out what comes next.”

Brian West, one of the creators of FreeSWITCH, reminisces about the early days: “I had the privilege of helping plan the first ClueCon back in 2005. The milestones we’ve achieved over the past 20 years are truly remarkable. Our success is rooted in the incredible community that supports us and the free exchange of ideas fostered by FreeSWITCH, empowering those building complex communication systems on a budget. Whether it’s video or WebRTC, we’ve got it all covered.”

Brian West, Michael Jerris, Anthony Minessale

The first ClueCon built up to the release of FreeSWITCH the following year. In the 20 years since the first version of the conference, things have changed in the world of telecom, and a lot has been built on the open-source project. Show support for FreeSWITCH and the future of telecom by coming to ClueCon and joining our open-source community!

Why Attend ClueCon 2024?

ClueCon is a community gathering at the intersection of communication and technology. Hosted by the team behind the FreeSWITCH open-source project, ClueCon brings together innovation and collaboration in a relaxed environment. At ClueCon, you’ll get the opportunity to:

Network with pioneers and thought leaders in the telecom industry.
Participate in hands-on workshops and learn from experts.
Put your coding skills to the test in our competitive hackathon.
Unwind and have fun at our social gatherings, complete with iconic Chicago meals.

Begin your week with the Coder Games, a day dedicated to coding and building technology. It’s a perfect opportunity for developers to explore new ideas and showcase their engineering skills.

Over the next three days, catch presentations by technology leaders from around the world. Topics cover all aspects of WebRTC, IoT, AI, and telephony, and it’s all one track – so you won’t have to miss anything.

ClueCon is designed for developers by developers, fostering a comfortable setting for networking. You’ll have numerous opportunities to connect with peers and industry experts. Throughout the week, meet the developers behind FreeSWITCH, hang out, and exchange ideas.

Get hands-on every day of the conference with workshops led by the experts. These sessions provide deep dives into the latest technologies and best practices from projects like FreeSWITCH, OpenSIPS, HOMER, and Kamailio.

Celebrate Our 20th Anniversary

This year, we celebrate two decades of innovation, collaboration, and community at ClueCon. At the Drake Hotel in the heart of downtown Chicago, you’ll experience the best of what ClueCon has to offer. Join us in celebrating ClueCon’s 20th anniversary at the Gigabit Reception – we encourage everyone to wear a ClueCon shirt from over the years to commemorate this milestone event!

Register Now and become part of the community. Whether you’re a new business startup, an existing technical company, or a developer working with open-source projects, ClueCon has something for you.

Stay up-to-date with the latest news by subscribing to the FreeSWITCH newsletter. You’ll get the best deals on ClueCon tickets, announcements on all things FreeSWITCH, regular ClueCon updates, and more.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We can’t make ClueCon happen without our 2024 sponsors, including FreeSWITCH and SignalWire. Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact our team to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.

See you there!

September 8, 2023September 8, 2023

ClueCon 2023 Wrap-up

ClueCon 2023 was a success! The sparkling halls of the Drake hotel provided an all-new backdrop for this year’s conference, and throughout the week, we heard some great talks from many familiar faces from around the community of open source and telecom.

Each day brought fresh insights and new ideas. If you missed out, don’t worry – all the presentations will all be available soon on the FreeSWITCH YouTube channel, so be sure you’re subscribed.

Keynote presentation by FreeSWITCH founder and SignalWire CEO, Anthony Minessale.

A few other notable events took place during the week, some of which will also make an appearance on the channel very soon. You’ll find a recap of a few highlights below.

FreeSWITCH v1.10.10 Release!

We kicked the week off with a FreeSWITCH Release! This is a major release containing critical security fixes, adding Debian 12 Bookworm, OpenSSL 3 and FFmpeg5 support. As part of our continuing dedication to code quality, we have resolved static analysis bugs for MacOS in all of FreeSWITCH core and in most modules. We encourage all users to upgrade to v1.10.10 as soon as possible.

The Coder Games

Our annual hack-a-thon offered a fun and engaging networking event as attendees arrived for the week. We had some coding challenges available for those who wanted to flex their skills, and non-coding challenges for anyone who wanted a break.

Maker Challenge

This year’s Maker Challenge was all about connecting an Arduino sensor to a phone call using SignalWire. A panel of judges evaluated functioning prototypes to award prizes to the most innovative.

FreeCYCLED Hacks

In the most egg-citing event of this year’s Coder Games, we challenged attendees to an Egg Drop Challenge! Participants were given an egg, a set of materials, and a limited amount of time to design and build a contraption to prevent the egg from breaking when dropped from a balcony. In the end, after the judges conferred, “The House From Up” triumphed!

Welcome Dinner at Giordano’s

We ended day one of ClueCon 2023 with networking, fun, and a classic Chicago meal! After (unfortunately) getting caught in the rain, everyone dried off, relaxed, and rested up for the week ahead with pizza, drinks, and great company.

The AI Roundtable

Evan McGee hosted an AI roundtable on day two, joined by Eli Yelluas Replicant, Diego Gosmar, James Tagg, Anthony Minessale, Kristian Kielhofner, and Jeff Pulver. They had a great discussion about where artificial intelligence was not long ago, where they predict it will be in the future, regulations and copyright, and popular tools such as ChatGPT.

Evan McGee, Eli Yelluas Replicant, Diego Gosmar, James Tagg, Anthony Minessale, Kristian Kielhofner, and Jeff Pulver.

Gigabit Reception

After day two, we celebrated our annual Gigabit Reception with a piano bar! Attendees sang along with the piano man, belted out their favorite songs at karaoke, and enjoyed some games and networking after a long day of presentations.

Casino Night

We brought back an annual favorite for this year’s conference, and added to it! Beyond just having Poker Night this year, we hosted an entire Casino Night. Including a Poker Tournament hosted by World Poker Tour Champion Phil Gordon, attendees enjoyed drinks, snacks, and casino games!

Dangerous Demos

We ended the conference day with Dangerous Demos hosted by James Body, where we had SO MANY great entries for demos that had to get dangerous in 3 minutes or less. There was some bribery, and a few that crashed and burned… and four crystal Dangerous Demos trophies were given out in the end.

A Dangerous Demo with James Body and volunteers.

The Grand Prize Giveaway

The Grand Prize giveaway marked the end of the conference! If you want your own, you’ll just have to attend next year…. (save the date for August 12th-15th, 2024!)

Early bird registration is open for 2024! We’ll see you next year.

August 10, 2023August 10, 2023

Countdown to ClueCon Part 3: What to Expect

ClueCon 2023 is just around the corner! Hosted at the iconic Drake Hotel in Chicago from August 14th-17th, this year’s conference promises an array of networking events, thought-provoking presentations, and tons of fun that you won’t want to miss. It’s still not too late to register. If you can’t make it, be sure you’re subscribed to the FreeSWITCH YouTube channel to catch the livestreams!

Here’s what to expect from this year’s conference:

Monday: Kickstarting the week with the Coder Games

ClueCon begins on Monday with the Coder Games hack-a-thon. There are both coding and non-coding challenges available, so whether you want a break from programming, or you want to flex your skills, you can team up and build your way to some awesome prizes.

If you need a break from writing code, get ready for the egg drop challenge that will test your engineering prowess. You’ll be given an egg, a set of materials, and a limited amount of time to design and build a contraption that will prevent the egg from breaking when dropped from a balcony.

But it’s not all coding and competition – gain invaluable insights into various open-source projects each day of the week over lunch. Monday will feature a HOMER lunch & learn session.

If you’re looking for a taste of Chicago, join us for the Welcome Dinner at Giordano’s, where you can savor Chicago’s famous deep-dish pizza served alongside a fantastic view of the city.

Tuesday: Keynotes, AI insights, and celebrations

Tuesday brings the start of three days of presentations, and the stage is set for some groundbreaking discussions. First up will be the keynote by Anthony Minessale, FreeSWITCH founder, SignalWire CEO, and a visionary in the world of communication technology.

The day continues with more presentations, and at lunchtime, check out the Kamailio workshop hosted by Daniel-Constantin Mierla. Join this session to discover how config preprocessing can help to increase elasticity of your deployment and leverage better container-based infrastructures.

As the conference day comes to an end, get ready to ask your questions about AI during the AI roundtable. AI is having a big moment right now, and many leaders in the industry are implementing AI into their products, or thinking long-term about how to leverage this powerful tech. During this session, industry experts will discuss the intersection of artificial intelligence and communication technologies.

Don’t forget the annual Gigabit reception, a perfect opportunity to network, relax, and hang out with fellow attendees. One of our favorite networking events! Enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and games. Bring your favorite instrument if you want to take part in the annual jam session, or jump in with a mic for the highly-anticipated ClueCon karaoke.

Wednesday: A day of learning and luck

Wednesday will be a full day of presentations spanning various topics. At mid-day, enjoy the FreeSWITCH workshop over lunch, where you can explore how to make your first call to FreeSWITCH using Docker.

This exciting event features the annual Poker Tournament hosted by World Poker Tour Champion Phil Gordon!

Thursday: Wrapping up with demos and prizes

As ClueCon 2023 draws to a close, the presentations continue, offering one last round of enlightening talks. The OpenSIPS lunch & learn provides insights into another powerful open-source SIP server.

Don’t Miss Out on ClueCon 2023

Whether you’re a developer, entrepreneur, or tech enthusiast, ClueCon 2023 is a must-attend event that will expand your horizons and connect you with like-minded developers. Get ready for an unforgettable journey at the intersection of technology and communication. See you at the Drake Hotel in Chicago from August 14th to 17th!

(Stay up-to-date by making sure you’re signed up for the FreeSWITCH newsletter!)

August 10, 2023

Countdown to ClueCon Part 2: It’s All About the Developers

ClueCon is an event for developers, by developers, hosted by the founders of FreeSWITCH. When you attend the annual conference in Chicago, you’ll find yourself surrounded by fellow developers who are eager to delve into the latest technologies, exchange ideas, and discuss ongoing projects.

There are plenty of learning opportunities at ClueCon, and as a one track conference, you don’t have to miss any of it. Get three days of technical presentations, lunchtime workshops from your favorite open-source projects, networking opportunities with industry leaders, and all kinds of fun and games where you can flex your engineering skills at our annual hack-a-thon or the Dangerous Demos competition.

Join us in Chicago, August 14th-17th at the Drake Hotel for the conference that pre-dates the founding of FreeSWITCH!

Enjoy a week full of presentations about the latest technologies

Tuesday through Thursday will be filled with technical presentations by industry leaders and developers. Pop in and out of the conference hall as you like, or enjoy all the talks in this one-track conference.

ClueCon isn’t about sales talks – it’s about tech. As Anthony Minessale, FreeSWITCH founder and SignalWire CEO describes it, “bigger conferences are a little war of like a thousand sales people trying to sell stuff to each other… Our conference is a way to educate people.”

There are a few trending technology topics you can look forward to hearing about at this year’s conference:

AI: Artificial Intelligence continues to revolutionize various industries, and these talks will explore its impact and potential applications in voice and telephony. Gain insights into leveraging AI technologies and techniques to enhance your applications with intelligent features and capabilities. This year will also include an AI roundtable, so that you can ask questions to the experts who have been exploring the use of AI in telecom for many years.

RTC: We’re always discussing RTC at ClueCon, and this year will be no exception. Delve into the fundamental applications of RTC, industry essentials, troubleshooting and debugging, and related open-source projects. These sessions will provide you with best practices that allow you to create immersive and interactive communication experiences.

The cloud: The future lives in the cloud, and we’re always talking about it at SignalWire. At this year’s conference, you’ll gain insights into optimizing your applications for scalability, reliability, and cost-efficiency in the cloud environment. These sessions will also cover best practices for leveraging cloud services and managing cloud-based applications effectively.

We’ve also got a great lineup of lunch & learn workshops from all your favorite open-source projects. Whether you need updates on FreeSWITCH, HOMER, OpenSIPS, or Kamailio, you can find some in-depth sessions taking place over lunch, included with your ClueCon admission.

Each workshop will be offered on a different day over lunch, so pick one, or enjoy all of them each day of the week, Monday through Thursday.

Code your way to the prize at the Coder Games

Each year at ClueCon, we kickstart the conference week with our annual hack-a-thon: the Coder Games! Join us for this competitive networking event on Monday, August 14th. There are both coding and non-coding challenges available, so whether you need a break from programming, or you want to flex your skills, you can build your way to some awesome prizes.

If you’re looking to do some coding this year, the Maker Challenge is for you. We’re challenging participants to work solo or in teams to connect an Arduino sensor to a phone call using SignalWire. This challenge will require you to combine your knowledge of coding, hardware, and telecommunications to create a functioning prototype that you will pitch to a panel of judges for the chance to win an exclusive ClueCon prize.

If you need a break from programming, join us for our FreeCYCLED Hacks game: the Egg Drop Challenge! You’ll be given an egg, a set of materials, and a limited amount of time to design and build a contraption that will prevent the egg from breaking when dropped from a balcony. It’s not as easy as it sounds – you’ll need to think creatively, work efficiently, and test your design before the final drop.

If you miss out on the Coder Games, join us at the end of the conference week for Dangerous Demos hosted by James Body. You’ll be encouraged to build something impressive or disastrous that can be presented in three minutes or less.

Network with fellow developers and industry leaders

ClueCon is just as much about building lasting connections as it is about learning. In addition to informative presentations and educational workshops, every night of the conference offers fun and relaxed networking opportunities. Evening events are hosted in a laid-back atmosphere, so you can unwind while meeting fellow developers and sharing ideas.

“If you ask people, they say they feel welcome there – which is one of our most important goals,” says Anthony Minessale. No matter if you’ve been a developer for years or you’re just starting out, you’ll find our networking events offer something for everyone.

After our first night’s welcome dinner at Giordano’s, we have a couple of other networking events to look forward to. The first is, of course, our annual Gigabit Reception. Come party with us in the 1920’s Drake Hotel for a 1920’s-themed evening reception. Hang out, enjoy some snacks, drinks, the annual jam session, and the always highly-anticipated ClueCon karaoke.

In honor of our prohibition-themed 1920’s conference this year, we’ll also be hosting a casino night. Join us for games of craps, roulette, black jack, and a poker tournament hosted by Phil Gordon, World Poker Tour Champion. Arrive in style with fashion inspired by mobsters and flappers, or come as you are.

Join us August 14th-17th at the Drake in Chicago! Get $200 off your ClueCon tickets with the code COUNTDOWN. We can’t wait to see you there!

June 9, 2023June 9, 2023

Countdown to ClueCon Part 1: Summertime in Chicago

Our countdown to ClueCon 2023 has officially begun! With just two months left before the annual developers’ conference, August 14th-17th, we at FreeSWITCH and SignalWire are buzzing with excitement for our yearly adventure to the Windy City.

There are a lot of reasons why you should attend ClueCon – informative presentations, one-of-a-kind networking events, community building – but there’s something special to be said about getting to explore Chicago in the summertime. (If you’ve only been to the most recent two October ClueCons, give it a try! We promise it’s better…)

Many updates are to come in the next two months on the specifics of speakers, schedules, and other details surrounding the business side of the conference. But to kick off our Countdown to ClueCon series, let’s talk about the home of ClueCon: Chicago.

The Drake

Nestled in the heart of downtown Chicago along the Magnificent Mile, the Drake Hotel is an iconic landmark that exudes timeless elegance, located conveniently for daily excursions between conference activities.

As the venue for this year’s ClueCon, this luxurious hotel offers a perfect blend of history and modern amenities. Many of our nightly activities this year will be 1920’s prohibition-themed, and as the decade when the Drake was built, this historical hotel will serve as the perfect backdrop for our Casino Night and annual Gigabit Reception.

With its breathtaking views of Lake Michigan and impeccable service, the Drake promises a truly memorable stay. Explore its opulent interiors, dine in one of the many nearby restaurants, or unwind with a cocktail at the famed Coq d’Or Lounge. The Drake will be the perfect base for your ClueCon adventures.

Not to mention, it may or may not be haunted…

The Magnificent Mile

The Magnificent Mile is a famous section of Michigan Avenue, rich with landmarks, cool restaurants, and all kinds of shopping. Boasting an impressive lineup of upscale boutiques, department stores, and luxury brands, the Magnificent Mile offers a pleasant walk towards Lake Michigan.

The Drake also happens to be located along the Magnificent Mile, so you’ll be right where you should be to explore Chicago’s downtown!

You can also head to the Chicago Riverwalk to check out the river. There, you’ll find waterfront cafes, wineries, monuments, museums, and boat tours, lined along a backdrop of public art. It’s also a good spot to get outdoorsy – try kayaking or paddleboarding!

Culinary Delights

Chicago is renowned for its food scene, and you’re in for a treat during ClueCon! We’re hosting our Monday night welcome dinner at Giordano’s, so that you can try Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza. (If you really love it, you should also give Lou Malnati’s a try…)

For an elevated dining experience, Alinea, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant, will take your taste buds on an unforgettable culinary journey. And let’s not forget the mouthwatering steak options at Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse for a truly indulgent meal.

You can find Chicago’s famous hot dogs piled high with all the fixings or a classic Italian beef sandwich at Portillo’s, if you’re looking for something more casual.

For your free days in the city

We also have a curated list of things to do in Chicago for when you’re not busy with ClueCon activities. Whether you’re into history, art, nature, architecture, food, shopping, or just wandering around and seeing the city, we’ve got you covered.

Chicago is rich with all kinds of museums, whether you want history, art, or nature. If you’re into music, there are a ton of music festivals throughout the city during the summer (and Chicago is home to Lollapalooza, two weeks before ClueCon). Aquariums, planetariums, boat tours… whatever you like to do or see on vacation, you can find in the Windy City!

The ClueCon team is familiar with Chicago and has plenty of suggestions for how to spend time in the city. If you’re looking for any guidance as you book your hotel room and plan your trip, feel free to ask us!

And don’t forget – you get a special rate for staying with us at the Drake! Be sure to book your room by July 21st if you want our room block discount. You can get our special rate from August 11th-19th, so we encourage you to book an extra day or two to check out the city while you’re there.

Get $200 off your ClueCon tickets with the code COUNTDOWN. We can’t wait to see you there!

November 7, 2022November 7, 2022

#ClueCon2022 Wrap-up

#ClueCon2022 was a huge success! We were so glad to be back fully in person this year, and want to thank everyone who made it possible – whether you were an attendee, speaker, sponsor, or you joined our livestreams. Below you’ll find a recap of the week, along with all the info you need for next year!

First and foremost, we kicked the week off with a new FreeSWITCH release! This is a minor release containing important bug fixes and stability improvements. Click here to view the release notes for v1.10.8.

As always, we started off ClueCon with the Coder Games hack-a-thon. This year we challenged attendees in the Maker Challenge to build their own Arduino car and live stream an epic stunt! We used sensors and cameras to live stream what was going on in the race track to a SignalWire Office. For FreeCYCLED hacks, attendees were challenged to build functioning projectiles that tested aim and accuracy by shooting various objects through different sized hoops. There were no rules about how this projectile had to function… all that mattered is how far the projectile could fly while maintaining peak accuracy.

A self-driving car hurtling toward the finish line.

Each year, the awesome presentations are a huge part of what makes ClueCon so memorable. Tuesday morning included our keynote presentation by Anthony Minessale. At lunch, attendees got to choose their workshop: Kamailio and its powerful iterators for management of SIP headers and body, or All Things Campaign Registry, depending on whether they wanted to learn about the recent version of Kamailio’s new tools for configuration files, or the current state of 10DLC messaging (The Campaign Registry) and messaging best practices. An open source roundtable ended the conference day, where we were joined by several open source experts from various projects. We heard about the latest developments, community building, financing projects, and got some questions answered.

Our open source roundtable! From left to right – Luca Pradovera, Fred Posner, Daniel-Constantin Mierla, Jachen Duschletta, Liviu Chircu, Michael Jerris, Anthony Minessale, Brian West.

Of course, after day two, we celebrated with our annual Gigabit Reception – as a Halloween party! Attendees dressed up in their best costumes for the costume contest, belted out their favorite songs at karaoke, ate pizza and enjoyed some games and networking after a long day of presentations.

A collection of some of the best costumes from this year’s Halloween Gigabit Reception.

Wednesday was another day full of presentations, and over lunch, attendees had the option to get an Introduction to QRYN with Jachen Duschletta! They learned how to set up, integrate and use QRYN – the open-source, high performance and cost-effective platform for logs, metrics and telemetry events designed for the next-generation of Telecoms and RTC Enterprises.

Evan Woolley hosted a panel for attendees to Ask a VC their questions about investing. Our top-notch investors spoke about some of the key things they look for in a growing company, or entrepreneur, before they make a move. We brought back a new annual favorite for that evening – Poker Night! Attendees competed in a tournament, enjoyed some drinks and snacks, played board games, and won some cool prizes for their efforts.

The presentations for ClueCon 2022 finished on Thursday, with plenty of familiar faces from the world of open source. We even got an update on the newest FreeSWITCH release from Andrey Volk, who called in from across the world to talk about the latest fixes!

Thursday’s lunch and learn was led by Liviu Chircu of OpenSIPS, where attendees learned about Building STIR/SHAKEN services with OpenSIPS 3.3. The workshop included a live coding session and demo, and attendees brushed up on knowledge of leveraging the “stir_shaken” OpenSIPS module in order to build open-source, production-ready STIR/SHAKEN services.

We wrapped up the conference with Dangerous Demos, hosted by James Body, where we had SO MANY great entries for demos that had to get dangerous in 3 minutes or less. Participants even bribed attendees with Golden Tickets to win votes in their favor, to receive the coveted crystal Dangerous Demos trophies.

The Grand Prize giveaway of the custom-etched MacBook Pro marked the end of the conference! If you want your own, you’ll just have to attend next year…. (save the date for August 14th-17th, 2023!) But there’s good news if this year gave you FOMO… Early Bird tickets are now available! These will be as cheap as ClueCon tickets will possibly get, so take advantage of the sale while you can! Get 2023 ClueCon tickets for just $599.99.

If you just can’t wait for next August, you can find all the presentations, panels, and demos on the FreeSWITCH YouTube channel!

We’ll see you next year!

October 7, 2022October 7, 2022

ClueCon: An Initiative of the FreeSWITCH Community to Empower the Worldwide VoIP Industry

Guest post by Inextrix

A “clue” is very important for any business, professional, or individual. The right “clue” for getting started, moving forward, and growing step by step to reach success is vital. ClueCon is the developers conference where these clues are collected by VoIP experts with years of experience and impressive vision, and presented to the VoIP industry to succeed in their journey. ClueCon is “by developers, for developers.” It is not just another corporate event where multiple keynote speakers deliver different sessions and the audience listens to them in a monotonous way. It is an interactive conference for VoIP, IP telephony, and other technology lovers.

Looking back at ClueCon: From Conference 1 to Now…

Originally, this conference was started back in 2005 by an ambitious team of Asterisk developers. The goal of the very first ClueCon was to bring different open source platforms together on a single stage, create a thriving environment, and build one of the strongest open source communities in the VoIP industry.

The very first event inspired the team to launch another open source telephony platform, which is now known as FreeSWITCH. Since then, year by year, the conference has taken place with key members of the FreeSWITCH community attending and hosting this event.

Top reasons to participate in the ClueCon Developers Conference

To get that much needed clue

ClueCon has some great sessions, social networking events, demos, and more for its participants, hosted by industry leaders and experts. The thoughts shared during these keynote sessions or ideas discussed during social networking events can help entrepreneurs and business owners get the clues they need for their next innovative project. Aspiring VoIP developers and business owners will get the clues to succeed or move forward in this industry.

To get support

ClueCon brings major players in the open source VoIP industry together. Company owners, expert VoIP developers, business enthusiasts, consultants, and community members participate in this event to exchange ideas and network to grow together. Interactive sessions give an open opportunity to know the speaker better and collaborate with them. This welcoming and warm environment offers ample opportunity to support each other and get supported.

To build success tools

The ideas shared here will help you build the best success tools for your business. You can grab some futuristic technology product ideas to implement or you can get an answer to your long standing VoIP questions from telephony industry leaders. There is so much to explore and adopt for your career or business success. You can even find a partner that is as crazy as you are to live your dreams by building these tools together. Most importantly, many open source VoIP and telephony platforms and companies give some alluring offers that can help you build your tools with ease.

To be part of a growing open source community

ClueCon brings together the top open source VoIP and telephony platforms like FreeSWITCH, Asterisk, Kamailio, OpenSIPs, ASTPP, and more on a single stage. You will be able to learn about all of these and many other open source communities and technologies. You can join these communities to convert your passion into a valuable contribution. These communities recognize the efforts of their contributors, which will further benefit you.

To thrive together

ClueCon lives by the motto, “for developers, by developers.” In interactive events, you will be able to get support from the community and ever increasing VoIP industry to thrive.

Unlimited fun

In this 4-day long conference, there will be multiple fun events to learn and laugh together. You will get a chance to be part of meet-ups and networking sessions. There is not only learning, but also a lot of fun that will rejuvenate you completely.

The emergence of FreeSWITCH as a platform and its USPs

FreeSWITCH and SignalWire are the main organizers of ClueCon, along with multiple other sponsors that contribute to the success of this conference every year. FreeSWITCH has been benefiting businesses for many years with the most robust, scalable, and secure telephony platform.

Major USPs of FreeSWITCH as a telephony platform:

Ability to handle a variety of media with greater performance
Ability to handle massive call volume and VoIP traffic with minimal hardware requirement and exceptional performance
Excellent multi tenancy support
Innovative features and modules
Modular structure
Outstanding stability
Commendable failover support
And many more

More than 5000 businesses use this platform, including Zoom, Amazon, Vonage, and others. ClueCon is the place to meet visionary developers, community leaders, and business owners.

How Inextrix Technologies uses FreeSWITCH to benefit its clients

Inextrix Technologies Pvt. Ltd is one of the sponsors of the ClueCon Developers Conference. The company has been using FreeSWITCH as one of the core technology platforms to offer custom telephony software development services to its clients. It has developed several multi tenant and digital VoIP solutions to help companies build sustainable businesses.

Inextrix is also one of the philanthropist companies that love open source VoIP communities. It has been managing and empowering an open source telephony platform for years – ASTPP: A Smart TelePhony Platform.

How ASTPP uses FreeSWITCH to benefit its clients

ASTPP is built using the core power of FreeSWITCH. It is the only VoIP telephony platform that supports the add-on concept to ensure the upgrade of software with new add-ons does not disturb the core functionality. Each add-on of ASTPP either has a VoIP solution or core functionality to add value to this smart platform.

The stability, performance, scalability, and security could only have been incorporated into this platform with the help of FreeSWITCH.

End note

In a nutshell, ClueCon has been inspiring professionals, bringing VoIP open source community leaders together, setting a stage to grow and succeed together, and taking advantage of the united power of technology, talent, and teamwork since its inception.

In 2022, ClueCon is back again with more amazing keynote sessions, fun activities, coder games, roundtable discussions, meet-ups, demos, and much more. Book your calendar from the 17th to the 20th of October and be part of this event that brings digital revolution to all!

September 26, 2022September 26, 2022

What to Expect from #ClueCon2022

#ClueCon2022 is only a few weeks away! Join the FreeSWITCH team in Chicago for all your VoIP, WebRTC, cloud communications, and open source needs. Here’s what to expect from your favorite annual developers conference, October 17th – 20th:

Monday will kick off the week with the Coder Games hack-a-thon, hosted by SignalWire’s Abbi Minessale. Whether you want to code your way to the prize or you’re a builder at heart, there’s a challenge for everyone at the Coder Games! You can work as a team or go solo as you utilize the provided materials to build your creation. Tons of awesome prizes will also be handed out throughout the day.

This year there will be three challenges to choose from:

Maker Challenge: Are you an engineer? This year we are challenging you to build your own Arduino car and live stream an epic stunt! Kits, supplies, and code will be provided along with a few extra sensors and surprises to play and build with.

FreeCYCLED Hacks: Not a developer? Show off your skills by building a functioning projectile that tests your aim and accuracy as we challenge you to shoot various objects through different sized hoops.

SignalWire Challenge: If you want to win a cash prize for coding, this is the challenge for you. Create an open source application using SignalWire’s APIs/SDKs to receive $500! Because this is ClueCon, a key part of the submitted application needs to be communication (e.g. voice, video, dialing phone numbers and calling people or automated voice responses, or SMS/MMS).

When the day is over, we’ll all be getting together for a tasty Chicago meal at Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap. Come hang out and unwind after a long day of hacking for some good food and even better company!

The middle of the week will be packed with presentations from industry experts. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, catch informative talks and interesting demos by leaders in the world of open source and telecom. ClueCon is all one track, so you won’t have to miss out on anything. Click here to find out who’s speaking when! Use the breaks during the day to chat with our exhibitors or hang out with the team in the SignalWire lounge.

Tuesday morning will include our keynote speaker, Anthony Minessale, so be sure to join us right away at 9:30. At lunchtime, choose your workshop – Daniel-Constantin Mierla will be leading a Kamailio lunch & learn, while SignalWire will be hosting a Campaign Registry workshop. The conference day will wrap up with an open source roundtable where we will be joined by experts from the world of open source telecom: Anthony Minessale, Brian West, Michael Jerris, Daniel-Constantin Mierla, Fred Posner, Liviu Chircu and Lorenzo Mangani. We’ll relax in the evening at the annual Gigabit reception, which this year will include a halloween costume contest! Join us for drinks, hors d’oeuvres, the annual Jam Session and ClueCon karaoke.

On Wednesday morning, we’ll be joined by some expert investors for our “Ask a VC” panel. Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a Venture Capitalist? This panel of top-notch investors will speak about some of the key things they look for in a growing company, or entrepreneur, before they make a move. Get a HOMER workshop at lunchtime hosted by Lorenzo Mangani, and in the evening face off with your fellow attendees in the annual Poker Tournament! Beginners are more than welcome, and there will be board games if cards just aren’t your thing.

On Thursday, the final day of the conference, catch the last of the presentations and enjoy an OpenSIPS workshop over lunch led by Liviu Chircu. In the afternoon, we’ll wrap up the conference day with Dangerous Demos hosted by James Body, where danger is part of the fun and you never know who will crash and burn. Don’t forget your raffle tickets, because the final event of the day will be the grand prize drawing for a custom etched MacBook.

If you stay Thursday night, there are a few more activities you can look forward to – we’ll be hosting a SignalWire roadshow onsite at the hotel after ClueCon is done! Friday, FreeSWITCH training is available for purchase, and in the afternoon, free SignalWire training is available with your ClueCon registration. Lunch is included if you attend both. Learn more about all the training and workshops here.

We can’t wait to see you there!

July 28, 2022October 21, 2022

A Guide to ClueCon’s Evening Events

ClueCon has a lot going on every day: educational presentations, workshops, hands-on hack-a-thon challenges. So each night of the conference, we’ve carved out time for networking and fun to unwind, relax, and get to know your peers.

After a long day of presentations or building engineering marvels, join the FreeSWITCH founders, the developers who maintain the project, the ClueCon team, and others in the community for some food, drinks, and games.

When you’re purchasing your ClueCon tickets and wondering whether to check ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on your sign up form for each evening event, this guide will give you some insight on what exactly those events are. Here’s a brief overview of the 2022 evening activities for you to consider when registering for this year’s conference.

Monday Night: Dinner at Melnick’s

We start the week off easy. After a day of hacking and building at the Coder Games, we’re off site from the hotel for a classic Chicago dinner at Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap. Join us for an evening of Chicago wings, barbecue, and drinks. We’ll spend a couple of hours enjoying some good food, good company, and relaxing before the week to come. Who knows? We might even keep the festivities going after dinner.

Tuesday Night: The Gigabit Reception

Every year, the Gigabit Reception is high energy and highly anticipated. This is our annual party where everyone has the chance to get together and mingle with all the other attendees, speakers, and sponsors, and we wouldn’t recommend missing it. With Halloween just around the corner, we even added a costume party to this year’s event! There will be food, there will be drinks, there will be games, and there will be music. Bring your favorite instrument, because the annual Jam Session always features Anthony Minessale on guitar and any other willing musicians who want to join. And if you aren’t a particularly skilled musician, don’t worry… ClueCon karaoke will feature the rest of us who just want to have a good time.

Wednesday Night: Poker Night

Last year we hosted our first ever ClueCon Poker Night, and it was such a success that we’re bringing it back around for a second time. The tournament will be sponsored by Prompt.io and World Poker Tour Champion Phil Gordon. Let your competitive side out a little! If you haven’t played much poker before, don’t worry – this event is beginner-friendly. Anybody could be the winner. Flex your poker skills or just enjoy some drinks and watch the drama unfold. If you win a game, you might even get some cool prizes.

We hope to see you there!