Eurecom selected in joint Lime, Ubuntu wireless network development

EE, the UK’s largest mobile operator and part of BT, has pledged to use the technology developed using this breakthrough platform to provide coverage to a remote community in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

The new platform includes the world's first Open Source software-based LTE base station running on a PC, as part of Lime’s ‘network in a box’ solution. Developers can configure the network platform via software available through the Snappy Ubuntu Core stores, allowing the creation of new mobile network applications and services. This radical new approach to mobile network innovation will allow operators to foster a diverse ecosystem of developers that can tailor network services to their needs – and those of their customers.

“EURECOM is the clear leader in the open-source LTE stack technology, and so was the natural choice for our mobile innovation platform,” said Ebrahim Bushehri, CEO of Lime Micro. “Operators are today looking for routes to innovate in their networks and this system shows the way. By providing the hardware and standards-compliant software, alongside an easy-to-use and accessible configuration platform, we create an environment that anyone can program: and this unleashes the creativity that mobile networks need.”

Speaking about the launch of the new platform, Mansoor Hanif, Director of Radio Networks at EE, said: “Apps and smartphones revolutionized the mobile experience and this could have the same impact on the network – we’re allowing anyone to build an app that can introduce a new service or a new capability to a mobile network. That could be to connect a rural area of the UK for the first time, or to be part of designing how 5G works. This type of innovation is vital to evolving wireless networks, and we’re making sure that the UK is at the forefront of that.”