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I'm a newbie at radio (though starting to get into it). What would be the main use-case for this GSM BTS? I mean, does it act like a femto and provide increas

by mxuribe 11y ago

I'm a newbie at radio (though starting to get into it). What would be the main use-case for this GSM BTS? I mean, does it act like a femto and provide increased signal strength in/around your home? Or is this the kind of thing that is merely fun to build (though unlikely to operate to due fcc-related restrictions)??

d33 11y ago
One use case is the GSM network ran on Chaos Communication Congress hacker conference in Hamburg. They created an internal network for the attendees to - among other reasons - communicate for free: https://events.ccc.de/congress/2015/wiki/Static%3AGSM https://events.ccc.de/congress/2015/wiki/Static%3AGSM
lb1lf 11y ago
The main use case would be getting into trouble with the authorities. However, there are a few sub-cases (most of which will still in part fall under the first one) a) Educational - you can learn a lot about how telecom networks actually work by playing around with your own BTS. However, it would be advisable to do so in a place where your emissions don't interfere with other, legit operators - say, in a mine or something. (I am not being flippant here). b) Nefarious, non-state: it is trivial to trick any compatible cell phone into connecting to your rogue BTS instead of one belonging to the victim's carrier. This could be done transparently to the victim - ie. you forward his call data to the network at large, MitM-ing him and monitoring his conversations. c) Nefarious, state actor: Much the same purpose as b), though presumably a (legit) state actor would be able to just serve the telco with a warrant to get at the same data - the exception being, of course, if you were operating on someone else's turf - say, you are some intelligence service operating abroad, eavesdropping on another state's principal actors, for instance. d) Fun (closely related to a) above) - say, in particular if you operated in an area with no effective RF licencing regime (failed states and offshore springing to mind), you could effectively become your own cell phone carrier, for instance while hosting a conference on a vessel in international waters, allowing participants to use their handsets to get in touch with each other. This option could be utilized either with or without a gateway to the global phone network.
- mxuribe 11y ago
  Got it, ok, thanks.
stephen_g 11y ago
I would say mainly for learning, as long as you first have enough knowledge to set it up to not be detectable outside your property. But as it develops, it could be useful for building networks in developing countries, or for deploying emergency networks as it will be far lower cost than commercial equipment.

by mxuribe 11y ago

d33 11y ago

One use case is the GSM network ran on Chaos Communication Congress hacker conference in Hamburg. They created an internal network for the attendees to - among other reasons - communicate for free: https://events.ccc.de/congress/2015/wiki/Static%3AGSM https://events.ccc.de/congress/2015/wiki/Static%3AGSM

lb1lf 11y ago

The main use case would be getting into trouble with the authorities. However, there are a few sub-cases (most of which will still in part fall under the first one) a) Educational - you can learn a lot about how telecom networks actually work by playing around with your own BTS. However, it would be advisable to do so in a place where your emissions don't interfere with other, legit operators - say, in a mine or something. (I am not being flippant here). b) Nefarious, non-state: it is trivial to trick any compatible cell phone into connecting to your rogue BTS instead of one belonging to the victim's carrier. This could be done transparently to the victim - ie. you forward his call data to the network at large, MitM-ing him and monitoring his conversations. c) Nefarious, state actor: Much the same purpose as b), though presumably a (legit) state actor would be able to just serve the telco with a warrant to get at the same data - the exception being, of course, if you were operating on someone else's turf - say, you are some intelligence service operating abroad, eavesdropping on another state's principal actors, for instance. d) Fun (closely related to a) above) - say, in particular if you operated in an area with no effective RF licencing regime (failed states and offshore springing to mind), you could effectively become your own cell phone carrier, for instance while hosting a conference on a vessel in international waters, allowing participants to use their handsets to get in touch with each other. This option could be utilized either with or without a gateway to the global phone network.

mxuribe 11y ago
Got it, ok, thanks.

stephen_g 11y ago

I would say mainly for learning, as long as you first have enough knowledge to set it up to not be detectable outside your property. But as it develops, it could be useful for building networks in developing countries, or for deploying emergency networks as it will be far lower cost than commercial equipment.