asterisk users - Mar 2006 - gsm picocells

Is anyone in the world making gsm 'picocells' which could be connected
to an Asterisk server and allow gsm mobiles to roam to them (and
therefore become just another extension) when in the office?

Obviously lots of things to consider (it's a licensed band) which I
think was the big holdup last time I asked this question anywhere.

I know there was talk about using them on aircraft though so the
technology definitely appears to be there!

James

On Friday 17 March 2006 20:11, James Harper wrote:
> Is anyone in the world making gsm 'picocells' which could be
connected
> to an Asterisk server and allow gsm mobiles to roam to them (and
> therefore become just another extension) when in the office?
Siemens makes them, as do a few others.  Googling should provide you with the 
manufacturers, and ebay has some used equipment for sale.  They will all tie 
in to Asterisk with a T1/E1 card.

What *I* am looking for is a CDMA picocell.  I have not been able to locate 
one yet.  :-)

-A.

> Siemens makes them, as do a few others.  Googling should provide you
with
> the manufacturers, and ebay has some used equipment for sale.
Care to give me any more clues? Google only wants to tell me about
articles about the use of picocells in aircraft and how much better the
world will be when it happens :) Maybe I'm using the wrong search terms.
> They will all tie in to Asterisk with a T1/E1 card.
Cool. Thanks.

James

> On 3/17/06, James Harper <james.harper@bendigoit.com.au> wrote:
> > Care to give me any more clues? Google only wants to tell me about
> > articles about the use of picocells in aircraft and how much better
the
> > world will be when it happens :) Maybe I'm using the wrong search
terms.
> >
> > > They will all tie in to Asterisk with a T1/E1 card.
> 
> If I understand what you're looking for, this should be of some
> assistance:
> http://www.voip-
> info.org/wiki/view/Asterisk+Connecting+to+the+Cellular+Network
> 
> The stuff from Eurotech looks pretty sharp.
Could be just too many new terms for me to digest on a Saturday, but it
looks like the stuff on that page is all handset or handset emulation
devices (eg stuff that takes a sim card). What I'm asking about is a
micro/pico gsm cell that mobile handsets could connect to when in the
office, so everything is complete off the network of the mobile phone
provider. 

Thanks

James

> I believe the OP wants to use GSM handsets as extensions, like running
> your own localized GSM network. That's not the same as using a GSM
> terminal to connect Asterisk to the cellular network.
Correct!
> IP Access makes such products.
> http://www.ipaccess.com/products/nanoBTS.htm
That looks about right. All problems of spectrum licensing etc aside,
the product claims to use Ethernet as the wired access medium, but
appears to need to connect to a much meatier box as part of a packaged
solution. The site doesn't seem to give much away, including price.

Thanks

James

> > > I believe the OP wants to use GSM handsets as extensions, like
running
> > > your own localized GSM network. That's not the same as using
a GSM
> > > terminal to connect Asterisk to the cellular network.
> > Correct!
> > > IP Access makes such products.
> > > http://www.ipaccess.com/products/nanoBTS.htm
> > That looks about right. All problems of spectrum licensing etc
aside,
> > the product claims to use Ethernet as the wired access medium, but
> > appears to need to connect to a much meatier box as part of a
packaged
> > solution. The site doesn't seem to give much away, including
price.
> 
> That's the trouble with GSM, the cell (or picocell) is just part of
the
> infrastructure required. A cell is actually a BSC (basetation
> controller).
> 
> BSC's are controlled by MSC's (Mobile switching centre), an MSC
will
> control multiple BSCs and MSC talk to each other. We're in SS7 land
now.
> You also need an HLR (home location register), SMSC (if you want your
> users to do SMS) and then all the GPRS bits for MMS/data/etc.
> 
> IP.Access's picocell uses IP backhaul so can be deployed easily in
> remote sites. They cost around GBP 2,000.
Ah. More complicated than I'd hoped but not more than I suspected :)

So the product that can accept gsm phone registrations and calls and
trunk them to asterisk via E1/TDMoE/TDMoIP/SIP/IAX is still wishware? Oh
well. I guess hybrid gsm/dect/wifi phones will reach maturity first
which is probably a better solution to the problem anyway.

Thanks for the info, if nothing else I'm now a little wiser on the
subject.

James

In article <441B979A.7010305@datvoiz.com>, leo@datvoiz.com
says...
> I believe the OP wants to use GSM handsets as extensions, like running 
> your own localized GSM network. That's not the same as using a GSM 
> terminal to connect Asterisk to the cellular network.
> 
> IP Access makes such products.
> http://www.ipaccess.com/products/nanoBTS.htm
> 
> But, I don't think it works for CDMA, only GSM.
Hi Leo.

Can you tell me how mobile phone connects to nanoBTS? What SIM card do I have to
use? Can I have mobile phone with SIM card of my GSM provider, and be connected
with Asterisk and GSM network of mine provider simultaneously.


--
Tomislav Parcina
tparcina#lama.hr

> Steve,
> 
> Excellent explanation.
> 
> In a nutshell, it might be better to just use a phone that can
> automatically switch between GSM and WiFi. Of course, that's limited
to
> handful of handsets.
I haven't done any sort of research, but I've been told that GSM+DECT
phones are available, and while having them seamlessly switch network
types during a call probably isn't possible, they can function as a
cordless handset.

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

James