OsmocomBB is an Free Software / Open Source GSM Baseband software implementation. It intends to completely replace the need for a proprietary GSM baseband software, such as
- drivers for the GSM analog and digital baseband (integrated and external) peripherals
- the GSM phone-side protocol stack, from layer 1 up to layer 3
In short: By using OsmocomBB on a compatible phone, you are able to make and receive phone calls, send and receive SMS, etc. based on Free Software only.
This project is doing amazing work, but despite all the effort, it only supports very small number of phones based on one particular baseband chip because this one happens to accept unsigned firmware. It only supports 2G (and not even completely), so 3G and 4G are completely out of the question. Don’t expect to flash this on your Samsung Galaxy Whatever any time soon.
Aside from the immense technical knowledge, expertise, and dedication required to code your own baseband software, there’s a huge legal barrier – it’s pretty much illegal to use a baseband like this without explicit approval. In fact, the people behind the project do not use their software on carrier networks.
Despite the fact that the need for a properly open source baseband firmware is obvious to everyone, the cold and harsh truth remains that we’re not even close.
An other good development is that the OpenBTS, the mobile telecom infrastructure project, recently got a code donation from Range Networks which is allows them to implement part of the 3G standard:
http://openbts.org/openbts-umts-1-0-for-data-available-for-download…
Edited 2015-02-03 23:15 UTC
Today we use 4G. 2G is so 90s.
Maybe that’s true in your metropolitan area, but currently still 60% of the global connections are 2G:
https://gsmaintelligence.com/images/analysis/entries/2012-11-22-2g-3…
(Source: GSMA intelligence)
2G is the way in most part of the world. No matter how many publicity the mobile telephones company does, the 3G o 4G cover is very limited (or overloaded).
twitterfire,
If anything, it shows how proprietary & restricted technologies are holding back open source development/developers. I’d be willing to bet that with open & documented hardware, open source developers would give proprietary baseband stacks a very good run for their money.
Part of the problem comes from the fact that much of baseband software for phones is required to be FCC approved with the hardware to guarantee it remains in compliance with the FCC standards it is supposedly implementing.
And the testing for the FCC is very expensive to do.