Lime Microsystems chief executive and founder of the MyriadRF open-source radio frequency initiative Dr. Ebrahim Bushehri has written a guest post for TechUK, highlighting the potential for software-defined radio and Ofcom’s Shared Access Spectrum in democratising and growing the radio access network (RAN) ecosystem, as part of the Diversifying Telecoms programme.
“With the advent of high performance software-defined radio (SDR) and powerful commodity compute platforms based on GPPs [General Purpose Processors] and GPUs [Graphics Processing Units],” Dr. Bushehri explains in his guest article, “it has now become possible to create RAN solutions which are integrated in much the same way that a PC workstation or a server chassis might be; using the very same components and running a Linux operating system, meaning that they benefit from the same economies of scale, while utilising familiar APIs and software tooling etc.
“As we move beyond simply disaggregation and open interfaces, to a commodity compute based approach, the UK finds itself poised on the verge of a transformational opportunity. One which is well within its grasp, but in order to realise it must think beyond current open RAN efforts, mobilise its software development community, commit to making Shared Access spectrum a success, and embrace the tools and practices that will foster collaboration and accelerate ecosystem growth.”
Dr. Bushehri’s piece is published in the same month as a demonstration video showcasing how the LimeSDR-powered LimeNET CrowdCell combines general-purpose processing and software-defined radio into a single unit ideal for taking advantage of Ofcom’s Shared Access programme to deploy a private or community Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular network, complete with edge-compute workloads which do not rely on a back-haul to a remote data centre.
The full article, The UK Foundations for a High Growth RAN Ecosystem, is available on TechUK now.