Our HISTORY
30 Years on
OPL (Optimal Projects Ltd) was founded in 1995 by Lee Mason with a vision: to help businesses get the most out of open-source technology. What began as a consultancy for smarter, more cost-effective IT operations evolved into something much more—driven by curiosity, capability, and the desire to do things the right way.
From the early 2000s, open-source VoIP began to take off. With the rise of FreePBX and its acquisition by Schmooze Com in 2013, Lee saw an opportunity to bring powerful, cost-effective PBX systems to businesses whilst removing the inherent complexity. He began offering support for FreePBX, helping organisations manage their own in-house PBX systems.
By 2014, the demand for hosted solutions had grown, and OPL launched its own hosted FreePBX service—running on virtualised CentOS servers in a secure data centre in the South East. As demand increased, OPL expanded its infrastructure, adding additional co-located data centre sites in 2017 to enhance redundancy and performance.
In 2024, OPL entered a new chapter. The company was acquired by new owners who shared the same passion for VoIP and commitment to partners. Lee continues to play an active role in the business, contributing his deep technical expertise and long-term perspective to OPL’s ongoing success.
Our CULTURE
The Culture That Keeps Partners Coming Back
OPL’s culture is rooted in technical excellence and strengthened by thoughtful, responsive support—because lasting partnerships start with people who care.
We’re proud of our technical depth—we have some of the UK’s most experienced FreePBX and VoIP engineers on our team. But we never hide behind jargon or complexity. Instead, we take the time to explain things clearly, help partners understand what’s happening and why, and ensure they always feel confident in the services they’re offering to their own customers.
We’re fast, too—support calls are answered within 30 seconds, and we take pride in building long-term relationships that are based on trust, transparency, and genuine collaboration.
Even today, nearly 30 years since the business began, the name “Optimal Projects Ltd” still means something: doing things properly, thoughtfully, and optimally—whether that’s delivering resilient VoIP services or building a wholesale platform that puts resellers in full control.
Our Leadership
Lee Mason
Founder
Chris Ball
Director
Phil Ware
Director
David Ray
Head of Communication Services
Richard Smith
Head of Business Development