Vodafone Demos a Small-Cell 5G Base Station Built Atop a Raspberry Pi 4, Lime Microsystems SDR

Cellular provider Vodafone has announced a prototype small-cell 5G network, powered by a software-defined radio (SDR) board and a Raspberry Pi single-board computer, which aims to make mobile private networks (MPNs) easier and more affordable to deploy.

"We looked at what Raspberry Pi did for computing, in terms of making it more accessible to people of all ages, and we wanted to do the same with 5G," explains Vodafone's director of network architecture, Santiago Tenorio, of the project. "Whilst this is just a prototype, it has the potential to bring new cloud, AI [Artificial Intelligence], and big data technologies within reach of many of the small businesses we support across Europe."

The heart of the system, which is just about small enough to balance on the palm of one hand, is a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B single-board computer connected to a software-defined radio (SDR) board developed by Lime Microsystems. Using the SDR, the Raspberry Pi 4 provides a dedicated private cellular network capable of covering a useful area — or can be used to extend coverage of another network, including Vodafone's public cellular network, into areas or poor or no reception.

The small-cell base station, which is to be demonstrated at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona later this month, is designed to adhere to Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) standards, meaning that while it's a Vodafone project it is applicable to any cellular network which has also adopted the same standards. The SDR board, meanwhile, is compatible with devices beyond the Raspberry Pi range — providing potential for building bigger and more powerful versions in the future.

"The next step is to take ideas like this to a place where they can be developed and eventually produced," says Tenorio of Vodafone's plans for the future of the project. "Our door is open to interested vendors."