One of the largest Vodafone cellular operators at the MWC Congress in Barcelona will present a prototype of the 5G base station built on Raspberry Pi to demonstrate how small enterprises can manage their own private network 5G.
Vodafone wants to make mobile private networks based on 5G more accessible for 22 million small and medium -sized enterprises throughout Europe, and believes that this can even become a viable broadband access technology for private households.
Vodafone position is that it is looking for ways to democratize private networks and spread their advantages to small business owners by reducing the cost of entering and reducing the resources necessary for obtaining digital services.
The company’s prototype is based on the RASPBERRY PI 4 single-pay computer in combination with the 5G-compatible printed circuit board of the Lime Microsystems program-defined radio system (SDR). This device can be used as part of a selected private network or connected to the publicly accessible network Vodafone.
The result was a box the size of a Wi-Fi Roter, which, according to Vodafone, can offer customers a full-fledged 5G network at a price of a wireless router.
“Raspberry Pi for calculations is available to people of all ages, and we wanted to do the same with 5G,” said Vodafone director for network architecture Santiago Tenorio.
In terms of its concept, this is somewhat similar to existing femtosot stations that network operators can install at home or in offices with a poor signal coating. But such devices are actually part of a larger mobile network, using, for example, a broadband connection for a communication network.
“Although this is only a prototype, it can make new cloud technologies, AI and Big DATA technologies available to many small enterprises in Europe that are served by Vodafone. The next step is to develop such ideas and ultimately realize our life. Our The doors are open to interested suppliers, ”Tenorio added.