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New release adds support for network slicing in NFV, management over multi-administrative domains, and multi-site network connectivity, all highlighted by ETSI as of benefit to 5G networks thanks to its partnership with 3GPP.

"In the long run, telco edge deployments will become the de facto platforms to deliver services close to end users and enterprise facilities," says ABI Research analyst Don Alusha. "5G and edge are partner technologies, and in the long term neither can become truly profitable without the other.

Modular design includes high-performance general-purpose processing (GPP), LimeSDR-based software defined radio (SDR), and an app ecosystem designed to speed development, deployment, and reconfiguration of network services ranging from voice and data relay to edge-network processing and caching.

"Applications include amateur radio, cellular networks, and much more," explains Lime Micro's Andrew Back of the project. "LimeRFE takes low-cost, high-performance, incredibly flexible software-defined radio to the next level. We can’t wait to see what the community builds with the combination of LimeSDR/LimeNET Micro and LimeRFE."

"The TIP CrowdCell, backed by Vodafone and Facebook among others, is designed to create 4G and 5G small cells for use in smart homes, offices, campuses and similar, to deliver enhanced connectivity quickly and easily via a plug-and-play device," the paper details, ushering in the "era of software-defined radio" for operators.

"5G New Radio is, however, much more complex than LTE given beam steering and mmWave signals," writes Martin Rowe in a piece for EDN. One possible answer: machine learning smarts at the network's edge.

"We need a new architecture for applications that changes the fixed, hierarchical client/server model," says Armani. "We need to build a larger, faster cloud where billions of devices at the edge can participate as either clients or servers, and provide services directly for one another. We need the edge cloud."

"There's going to be a transformation from the hardware side of things into a more open or disaggregated view," Chua tells Fierce Telecom. "Then from there, when you go up the stack, you would see more of the same thing."

"This agreement with ETSI signals it's possible to reach a harmonisation of collaborative activities across open source and standards for the networking industry," claims Linux Foundation GM Arpit Joshipura. "Working together results in less fragmentation, faster deployments, and more streamlined innovation."

Users of Lime Microsystems technologies, including the LimeSDR and LimeNET families, are invited to submit brief summaries of their projects and experimentations to highlight the breadth and diversity of the community in Lime's first Field Report Contest.