Lime Microsystems and Quortus today announced the Quortus PocketEPC core network technology, launched last week, will be available for LimeNET and LimeSDR hardware.
The port will be available on the LimeNET Ubuntu App Store from later this year.
The first of its kind, the App Store will contain wireless networking applications for cellular infrastructure, IoT, media and test & measurement for open source radio hardware solutions provided by Lime.
Quortus technology is trusted by many of the world’s leading operators and governments, to deliver civilian, military and emergency communications.
PocketEPC, which was officially launched today, includes Quortus’s software-based implementation of a complete mobile core network as part of Lime’s ‘network in a box’ solution, which takes software configurability to the radio access network (RAN), providing a significant level of computation power at the edge of the network.
By combining the Quortus PocketEPC with, for example an LTE stack on the LimeNET hardware, anyone can very quickly experiment and roll-out 4G (or 5G / IoT) networks quickly and cost effectively – adding capacity and bandwidth. And, being based on commodity software-defined radio hardware, this can be done for a fraction of the cost of alternative systems.
BT and EE have already pledged to use Lime hardware with Quortus technology to provide an array of new developments. Their use cases have included remote access and last-mile connectivity, disaster recovery, entertainment multicasting over 4G and 5G, as well as IoT hubs and enterprise networking as a service.
BT is also running a 3-month Hackathon challenge using LimeSDR boards. This culminates in September and seeks to develop new services and applications that utilise the flexibility of SDR technologies.
“Wireless innovation is changing with LimeSDR and LimeNET allowing networks to be experiments on and rolled out far more quickly, easily and cost effectively,” said Ebrahim Bushehri, CEO of Lime Micro.
“Quortus is the clear leader in software-defined core networks and their backing is a great example of how LimeNET and LimeSDR is getting such technology in the hands of everyone from to operators and major software houses to the huge community of developers.”
Andy Odgers, Quortus CEO, commented: “We’ve been involved with LimeNET and LimeSDR since their inceptions. The simplicity and ease-of-use of the platform is truly impressive and changes the ecosystem completely. Mobile operators can now tap into the power of the crowd. And application developers are now the ones driving value and innovation into future networks.”
The LimeNET programmable network in a box is available through Crowd Supply, and has been backed by Vodafone. Systems available include: a small cell for IoT and short-range cellular applications; a wide area network for carrier-grade applications; and an enterprise system to connect multiple LimeSDRs. Additionally the wide area network’s core computer, amplifier and 4×4 MIMO SDR board are available individually.
For further information on the crowdfunding campaign visit the Crowd Supply page, shortlink: www.limenet.net.
For further information on PocketEPC, read Quortus’ press release here.