5G: Ukama Node Private Cellullar

Sumber: https://www.crowdsupply.com/ukama/ukama

Ukama is a decentralized, open source cellular-data network that you can deploy and control yourself. To get started with Ukama, all you need is electrical power and an Internet connection. It is a complete solution that includes SIMs (and support for eSIMs), a cellular base station, distributed and embedded cellular Core, a management console, and cloud services. Ukama makes cellular Internet accessible to everyone - whether you are looking for free, faster streaming on your smartphone at home, bringing cellular data connectivity to a rural area for the first time, or rolling out a secure industrial IoT network.

Optional Global Roaming Within the coverage area of your own Ukama network, your data is always free and private. When you’re outside that area, you seamlessly have access to global data roaming coverage from existing tier-1 operators using Ukama SIM cards and eSIMs.

Unlock the Full Potential of CBRS Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is a band of radio spectrum (LTE band 48, covering 3.55 - 3.70 GHz) in the United States that was recently (2015) opened up by the FCC for unlicensed users to develop their own private networks. Today, nearly all new smartphones support CBRS. Ukama is the first cellular network using CBRS (and many other bands) that anyone can set up and run themselves, and it’s less expensive than many smartphones.

While Ukama’s CBRS compatibility certainly gives smartphones a boost, it also opens the door for a new generation of IoT devices based on private cellular networks that are faster, more efficient, and cover a wider area than Wi-Fi. With Ukama, anyone can develop and deploy their own cellular IoT network that is 100% under their control.

A Reliable, Secure, Network You Control Existing cellular data networks are expensive, provide unreliable indoor coverage, and usually lack service where it’s needed most. With Ukama’s embedded, decentralized core, you can keep your data on premises so it remains private and can be processed (and reacted to) in real time. Ukama networks enable applications as varied as autonomous tractors, construction sites, manufacturing lines, warehouses, hospitals, and ports.

Run a Network for Yourself or Your Town Ukama is designed to allow anyone, anywhere to run their own cellular data network. You can build a network for your home, your apartment complex, your neighborhood, your local community, or even your entire town. Ukama also provides a billing mechanism, so you can administer your network as a nonprofit or as a commercial service. There are many ways to take part in building the next stage of cellular network evolution with Ukama, from administering data plans and reselling SIMs, to setting up a home installation that federates with your neighbors, to deploying cell towers across large areas. Want to become your own MVNO? With Ukama, you can. We designed Ukama as a decentralized, bottom-up network. As more people deploy Ukama, their networks will start connecting with each another, both directly and over the Internet, to form a network of networks that expands over time.

ISPs, Telcos, and Ukama For any device with a SIM card, like phones, many tablets, and some laptops, Ukama is a good replacement for Wi-Fi. However, just like Wi-Fi, Ukama needs a wired connection to the Internet, which for homes comes from Internet service provides (ISPs), like Comcast in the United States. However, unlike Wi-Fi, you can formally share and, critically, share the cost of your Ukama network with your neighbors. Sure, you can give your neighbor the password to your Wi-Fi network, but there’s no good way to prevent them from hogging all the bandwidth or for them to pay for their share based on usage. In contrast, such resource and cost sharing is built into Ukama’s foundations. (See the Ukama Empowerment Package if you are interested in running a network like this.)

One of the primary differences between an ISP and a cellular telephone company is SIMs. Currently, any device that has a SIM card (or eSIM) needs to be connected to one of the huge telcos, like AT&T or T-Mobile. In a way, telcos are worse than ISPs - their service is just as bad and they charge you a monthly fee for every device, not just every household. With Ukama, you can use all of your SIM devices (and even equip other devices with cellular adapters that take SIMs) without being tied to a big telco - you are the telco, albeit one that relies on your ISP for the backend connection to the rest of the Internet. (Of course, some applications of private cellular data networks don’t require a connection to the Internet - they run entirely locally - in which case you wouldn’t even need an ISP.)

It’s easy to think of the Internet and cellular data networks as different ways to access the same sites and services. Yet, an important difference between the two is that anyone can build out their own corner of the Internet, whereas only huge telcos can build out any part of the cellular data network. Ukama is trying to change this. In essence, Ukama is the first step toward a distributed cellular network, one that is patched together from other smaller networks as those networks grow and overlap, just like the Internet was developed.

Putting the Grid Back Into Offgrid All Ukama nodes support low-power operation, consuming as little power as an average laptop, and are specifically designed to run off solar power. As a result, you can deploy them in rural areas or for other offgrid applications.

Custom, Open Hardware Made in the USA

We’ve developed five pieces of open hardware for running 4G/LTE cellular data networks to meet a variety of needs. Whether you barely know how to use your smartphone, or you’re a seasoned RF engineer, we have something for you. Unlike most cellular hardware, Ukama’s isn’t just rebranded versions of a large company’s products. We developed Ukama Home Node, Ukama Tower Node, Ukama Amplifier Unit, Ukama TRX Module, and Ukama Mini PCIe Expansion Module from scratch and they are all manufactured in the United States. In fact, being manufactured in the US is a requirement of the USTDA grant we received.

Referensi

• https://www.crowdsupply.com/ukama/ukama