DIY Cellular Networks
In the May/June 2010 issue of MIT Technology Review, there’s an article on building your own cellular network. You thought only cellular providers had the ability to offer such service, right? Well, thanks to an open source project called OpenBTS, you can too, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot.
The article is reproduced at the Technology Review website and goes into detail about why and how you would create a custom cellular network. The OpenBTS system saves considerable costs by eliminating typical hardware needs and using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). In particular, it uses the open source Asterisk software.
The interesting thing about the OpenBTS setup is that users of a custom cellular network can reach each other even if the system is not connected to the Internet. But an internet connection is required to reach anyone outside of the local network. As a result, this setup is often useful for outdoor events, on oil rigs, in other remote areas. It’s based on GSM technology, so only GSM phones can use this system. (Since GSM is the most widely used cellular communications standard, that’s not a big problem for most people worldwide.) The only drawback is that certain frequencies have to be used which might interfere with commercial carriers and thus be prohibited in some countries, including the U.S.