Ukama: Run your own cellular data network(crowdsupply.com)
crowdsupply.com
Ukama: Run your own cellular data network
https://www.crowdsupply.com/ukama/ukama
7 comments
Thanks for great questions, we are updating the page to include more technical info.
1. We use GPS for timing and OSC sync. 2. We will be releasing the EPC code shortly, doing some clean up. Please star us so you get notified when it happens :) 3. It is Made in the USA. PCB assembly is done locally in the west coast. 4. Yes, we are integrating with CBRS SAS via device proxy. This will be done by the time hardware is shipped!
1. We use GPS for timing and OSC sync. 2. We will be releasing the EPC code shortly, doing some clean up. Please star us so you get notified when it happens :) 3. It is Made in the USA. PCB assembly is done locally in the west coast. 4. Yes, we are integrating with CBRS SAS via device proxy. This will be done by the time hardware is shipped!
This commercial product uses the CBRS frequency allocations, which they (and others) point out is already built into commercially available devices, like iPhones. Is there not an OpenBTRS or Open Air Interface way of utilizing CBRS?
How does this compare to a WiFi mesh network? Seems it’s running on a similar frequency as WiFi (3.70 GHz) so I’d guess range & throughput would be similar.
Unlike Wifi, which runs on ISM band, cellular does not same output power limitation so i can go further. Cellular base-station can be either femto/pico, metro, micro and macro, depending on power level and number of sectors/users it could support. Ukama, currently, have both femto (Home Node) and micro (Tower + Amplifier Unit) with power output of 100mW and 1W, respectively.
Can you share a use case or two this would be best suited for?
I don’t want to
- Radios need timing sources, typically PTP backed by GPS. Not clear what they do here. Esp important when you have multiple radios and you want your devices to be able to move between them. Then again, its not really stated that this is possible, either via S1 or X2.
- I cant see any packet core control software, eg wheres the EPC that the radio units talk to? That is a complex beast but not obviously present on their github/ukama.
- is it made in China, or not? The kind of (serious) people that would appreciate the website's claims that it's made in the USA are equivalently the people for whom China is just out of the question. Hey, I don't make the rules, just report them.
- CBRS needs a SAS. You can't throw up an outdoor radio in CBRS unless you are an approved installer and you have to configure the radio to ping the SAS every few minutes to get permission to broadcast. Not clear what ukamas position is on all this or if they just hope you'll buy and figure it out yourself.