OpenBTS is an open source application that melds together a Unix Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) and Asterisk to create an extremely low cost GSM cellular network.

Website: openbts.sourceforge.net

OpenBTS is running a pilot network in Niue and has offered free phone service at Burning Man events.
There was a presentation on OpenBTS at Astricon 2009

News

• Open-source cell phone network could cut costs to $2 per month - Engineering for Change, June 2010
• Burning Man's open source cell phone system could help save the world - Network World August 30, 2010
• Open-source, software-based GSM cellphone network - Make July 2010
• Build Your Own Cellular Network MIT Technology Review May/June 2010

Resources

• OpenBTS Wiki
• Burning Man 2010 Open Access Cellular FAQ
• America 2009 Video: "Extending VoIP to the GSM Air Interface" (David Burgess) eComm Conference

See Also