Getting Started with OpenBTS

Foreword

As one of the original developers of the OpenBTS project, I’m excited to see this book become a reality. It all started in our living rooms; we were not telecom people—we were digital signal processing (DSP) software guys who had been doing GSM stuff, started playing with some early software defined radios, got introduced to VoIP, and just wanted to see if we could build our own mobile network for less than the GDP of a South Pacific island.

Since the original source code release in 2008, it’s been astounding to see the widespread adoption and interest in OpenBTS, which now helps provide cellular service on all seven continents (including several islands) and has found its way into innumerable labs and universities. It has really grown into a force for change in telecommunications.

Typically, when I’m asked about the value or importance of OpenBTS, the discussion turns to the technical aspects of software defined radios and replacing legacy telecom protocols with IP, etc. But why is OpenBTS—and this book, by extension—really important?

Nowadays, few would argue that mobile telephony is not an essential utility—for many people, as indispensable as water, electricity, and gas. But the world of mobile network infrastructure today is a monolithic “black box.” It has de facto closed, complex systems that few suppliers provide, which are run on pre-Internet protocols and architectural concepts that have evolved in increments over 40 years to do a specific job—but not economically, and with little flexibility.

So OpenBTS is really about empowerment. You can build a cell network. You can operate a cell network. You can learn how cell networks work. The technologies needed to build a network are no longer prohibitively expensive, nor has a handful of big organizations locked them down.

Enjoy getting started on your journey into the world of cellular networks.

— Harvind Samra, Cofounder of the OpenBTS project, cofounder and CTO of Range Networks