Build your own private 5G network
Mobile operator group Vodafone has unveiled a prototype of a 5G network in a box for those who want to build their own internal ‘local radio network’ for a fraction of the cost of buying a 5G router. The motivation for investing time in in such a venture is still not clear but demystifying the technology could ‘democratise it’ 9popularise) said Vodafone’s chief architect. The prototype will be unveiled as Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.
In a demo at its London offices, Vodafone representatives displayed the prototype built from a software-defined radio (SDR) chipset developed by Lime Microsystems, a Raspberry Pi 4 personal computer and core and radio software from French vendor Amarisoft, reported Telecom TV. Yago Tenorio, Vodafone’s network architecture director said it can run any 5G core software stack and RAN software suitable for a small network.
The cost of building such a device, which could be used by consumers or small businesses to extend 5G coverage or to create a private 5G network, will be the same as making a Wi-Fi router, according to the operator. Vodafone has not decided how to exploit this software defined radio but it could “turn any computing platform into a miniature 5G base station,” which means that in addition to being a small portable network-in-a-box, it could be linked to an edge computing platform to provide a local extension to a public 5G network.
The network-in-a-box idea was conceived and developed at Vodafone’s European R&D centre in Málaga, Spain, where a team of engineers are focused on the development of chipsets for Open RAN networks.
Vodafone says there is nothing proprietary in the box and nothing that couldn’t be put together by any other company. “No one else has been bothered to do it but we have,” said Tenorio.
Small businesses and households could learn how to extend and strengthen their 5G network signal to cover all eventualities, agreed the technically minded readers of ISP Review, but that seemed to be the only consensus they reached. One critic, ‘Dazmatic’, pointed out that Wifi 6 doesn’t tie the customer in with one service provider, is quicker and doesn’t need fancy modems. However, there are circumstances where fibre doesn’t reach, even in London, where BT’s ‘broadband actually runs at 5MBPS over copper cable.
In certain circumstances this could fill the gaps left by the broadband providers (see broadband story). Vodafone said that by combining the power of its pan-European 5G network with the ‘simplicity’ and versatility of a Raspberry Pi, it could make 5G-based mobile private networks (MPNs) more accessible to the 22 million small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Europe. It could also offer households extended coverage providing an additional fast broadband link at times when many residents are online simultaneously.
Vodafone is now looking at ways to popularise MPNs and extend their benefits to micro and small business owners whilst cutting the entry cost and reducing the resources needed to experience new digital services. Since ‘5G network on a Raspberry Pi’ is portable and no bigger than a home Wi-Fi router, this should mean a customer could instantly set up their very own, private network in a public place. What Raspberry Pi did for computing, it can do for 5G, according to Santiago Tenorio, Vodafone’s Director of Network Architecture. However, some might argue that user friendly interfaces ushered in the era of popular computing. However that was in a time when there were no Youtube videos available to walk people through the installation.
“This may be prototype, but it has the potential to bring new cloud, AI and big data technologies within reach of many of the small businesses we support across Europe,” said Vodafone’s Tenorio. “The next step is to take ideas like this to a place where they can be developed and eventually produced. Our door is open to interested vendors.”
See the Vodafone the 5G network on a Raspberry Pi at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, from Monday 27 February.