[1] In 1999, while a computer engineering student at Auburn University, Mark Spencer founded Linux Support Services (LSS).

[2][3] Spencer named it Asterisk after the programming wildcard symbol and the ”star” phone key.

It enabled phone calls over the Internet, providing an alternative to hardware-dependent PBX systems at a reduced cost.

[2] Asterisk-based business phone systems were the first of a new generation of VoIP-based communications products to compete with companies such as Cisco and Avaya.

[6] Sangoma Technologies Corporation announced on August 23, 2018, that they entered into a definitive agreement, closing on August 31, 2018, expecting to pay US$28 million on a debt-free and cash-free basis, subject to customary working capital adjustments, to acquire Digium.