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Can You Run an Open GSM Network?

Posted by Cliff on from the be-your-own-cell-phone-carrier dept.

OpenCell asks: "Here in Vancouver, cellphone companies are charging ridiculous amounts for basic cellphone plans. I'm wondering if it's possible to run an open/almost free GSM network on a small college campus. Assuming we could find the hardware and get the rights, is there open source software out there to handle most aspects for something like this?"

2 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. Most Likely, no by williamyf · · Score: 5, Informative

    Aside from the red tape, and all such crap there are a few solutions that will allow you to have a MSC+HLR+BSC+BTS but will not scale well, and since , OpenSS7 is barely usable, if at all, there is no way to scale.

    oh, and forget about roaming to your local provider when not in coverage if you do not sign a roaming agreement (highly unlikely).

    Grab a phone from nokia or others that dose the wi-fi to gsm trick, use voice over IP to lower costs, deploy a comprehensive wi-fi network in your campus, and you will be better served...

    Oh, and by the way, six years of experience in the second (734-02) GSM operator in Venezuela (in the telecomms area, just in case someone was wandering)

    http://www.digitel.com.ve/

    --
    *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
  2. DECT by ceroklis · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The short answer is no.

    GSM is not designed for private networks, so forget it. What you want is DECT. DECT is a standard for cordless phones. It scales from a single cordless phone connected to a fixed line to business systems that cover a whole campus and connect to a PBX, making it easy to integrate to your existing infrastructure.

    You can find dual DECT/GSM phones that seamlessly switch between the two networks. Here is a example of a DECT solutions vendor, which has a full range of offers: http://www.diacom.ie/kirk.htm.