Hi,
as probably for most of us an official (testing) licence is out of reach, is there a "workaround" for this problem?
- Is there some part of the official gsm bands that overlaps with local ISM or other not-so-tightly-regulated frequencies? (i.e, GSM1900 seems to have a small part that's not used by DECT...)
- Are there any "standard" gsm handsets that could be modified (preferably in software) to work at 2,4GHz?
- Is UMA/GAN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_Access_Network) something that could be used with OpenBSC? As far as i understand the specification, UMA is GSM Layer 3 over an GPRS/IPSEC tunnel to the BSC, so all the GSM-Goodies should be there.
I realize the first two options would not exactly make it legal, but i'd prefer the wrath of my neighbors over the suicide-squad from a carrier or regulatory agency ;).
Any comments?
Regards,
Jay
That is the same question I have been asking my self.
Maybe we could take a 2.4GHz (or 5.8) soft radio and turn it into a debugging/development tool I.E. create our own handset/base station combo
It would not be perfect and maybe not feasible.
Barnaby J Astles
On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 07:42, Jay R. Worthington <jayrworthington@gmail.com
wrote:
Hi,
as probably for most of us an official (testing) licence is out of reach, is there a "workaround" for this problem?
- Is there some part of the official gsm bands that overlaps with local ISM
or other not-so-tightly-regulated frequencies? (i.e, GSM1900 seems to have a small part that's not used by DECT...)
- Are there any "standard" gsm handsets that could be modified (preferably
in software) to work at 2,4GHz?
- Is UMA/GAN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_Access_Network)
something that could be used with OpenBSC? As far as i understand the specification, UMA is GSM Layer 3 over an GPRS/IPSEC tunnel to the BSC, so all the GSM-Goodies should be there.
I realize the first two options would not exactly make it legal, but i'd prefer the wrath of my neighbors over the suicide-squad from a carrier or regulatory agency ;).
Any comments?
Regards,
Jay
Hi Barnaby,
On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 09:42:37AM -0500, Barnaby Astles wrote:
That is the same question I have been asking my self.
Maybe we could take a 2.4GHz (or 5.8) soft radio and turn it into a debugging/development tool I.E. create our own handset/base station combo
while that is possible (implementing the radio modem for the MS and e.g. running OsmocomBB on top) - what is the purpose?
If you want simulation with custom implementations for both sides, you can skip the radio link altogether and simply tunnel Um over UDP between a virtual BTS and a virtual MS.
The point of running a real Um interface on the air is to use existing telephones 'as-is'. And then you have to operate in the bands they support.
Hi Jay,
On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 01:42:36PM +0100, Jay R. Worthington wrote:
as probably for most of us an official (testing) licence is out of reach, is there a "workaround" for this problem?
why do you think that? 'experimental license' != 'carrier license'.
We've obtained this in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. So at least in the EU it seems generally no problem
The fees we had to pay for those experimental/test licenses are typically < 300 EUR, so much cheaper than the equipment that you need to run the network anyway.
I don't remember the complete process, bit you can apply to the FCC for an experimental lic from their website. You have to pay a fee (I think it was 50 or 100 USD) and as long as you are power limited, I think they pretty much approve it for one year.
I can post the website link once I get back to the office.
*Sent from my iPhone 4
On Feb 17, 2011, at 12:25 PM, "Harald Welte" laforge@gnumonks.org wrote:
Hi Jay,
On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 01:42:36PM +0100, Jay R. Worthington wrote:
as probably for most of us an official (testing) licence is out of reach, is there a "workaround" for this problem?
why do you think that? 'experimental license' != 'carrier license'.
We've obtained this in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. So at least in the EU it seems generally no problem
The fees we had to pay for those experimental/test licenses are typically < 300 EUR, so much cheaper than the equipment that you need to run the network anyway.
From what I've heard about the US with regard to experimental licenses, they have a similar situation (see how OpenBTS folks managed to get licenses for their burining man tests).
- Is there some part of the official gsm bands that overlaps with local ISM
or other not-so-tightly-regulated frequencies? (i.e, GSM1900 seems to have a small part that's not used by DECT...)
This is a rumour. Only one of the uplink/downlink bands is in there, so you will still need a test license. Also, AFAIK the DECT band is not everywhere unlicensed for any kind of application, but actually restricted to be used with the DECT system.
- Are there any "standard" gsm handsets that could be modified (preferably
in software) to work at 2,4GHz?
no.
- Is UMA/GAN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_Access_Network) something
that could be used with OpenBSC? As far as i understand the specification, UMA is GSM Layer 3 over an GPRS/IPSEC tunnel to the BSC, so all the GSM-Goodies should be there.
You would have to implemet a UMA gateway and somehow glue that to the layer3 inside OpenBSC. I don't think you can do it cleanly with the current code.
Later this year, once the new "real MSC" codebase emerges, this might be easier.
Regards, Harald --
- Harald Welte laforge@gnumonks.org http://laforge.gnumonks.org/
============================================================================ "Privacy in residential applications is a desirable marketing option." (ETSI EN 300 175-7 Ch. A6)
The US FCC process pretty painless. Three weeks. US$60. Mostly done on the web, although you might get a telephone call. But if you want a high-power license, you must also "coordinate" with any licensed carriers in the spectrum, which is considerably harder than dealing with the FCC.
Be aware that frequencies just above the ISM900 band are used for aircraft landing beacons in the US. Screw with that on a foggy day and you are looking at some serious liability. We had a much more difficult time getting a high-power experimental license in ISM900 (down the road from an Air Force base) than we did in GSM850 (out in the desert).
I also also heard that a group at UC Berkeley recently got an experimental license to operate in the GSM1800 band, but I do not know the details.
On Feb 17, 2011, at 11:08 AM, kerney@cryptikware.com wrote:
I don't remember the complete process, bit you can apply to the FCC for an experimental lic from their website. You have to pay a fee (I think it was 50 or 100 USD) and as long as you are power limited, I think they pretty much approve it for one year.
I can post the website link once I get back to the office.
-
Barnaby Astles -
David A. Burgess -
Harald Welte -
Jay R. Worthington -
kerney＠cryptikware.com