A Burning Desire for iNum and GSM
Written by martyndavies on Sep 02, 2009 - 03:44 PM
The The Burning Man festival is increasingly a showcase for alternative technology, and so this year Voxbone will be providing 10,000 iNum numbers (country code +883) for the use of visitors to the event. Visitors to the Black Rock, Nevada desert-site will be able to make mobile calls to other iNum-enabled networks such as Skype, Truphone and Voipuser.
Last year, a GSM network was provided using OpenBTS (an open-source GSM cell-station solution using Asterisk). OpenBTS uses the 900/1800MHz GSM handsets not normally seen in the USA (where 1900MHz is the norm). This year OpenBTS is back on-site, but this time interconnected with Voxbone such that every handset gets its own +883 number for dial out/dial in to other iNum networks.
Thus far iNum has seen take-up from VoIP providers, with limited interest from the incumbent telcos. The thought behind iNum is that ultimately everyone will have their own "Earth code" number that is completely portable across the globe, and allocated to an individual for life. Calls between +883 numbers should be free, or at least at a very low cost, reflecting the economic realities of our globally-interconnected packet data networks.
| Rod Ullens, Voxbone CEO : |
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“We are showcasing how iNum can be used to connect remote or unconnected areas of the globe with the rest of the connected world, using cell phone infrastructures such as OpenBTS. “In addition, we are demonstrating to people attending Burning Man that they can receive voice calls and text messages from services like Google Talk on their cell phones at the festival. Burning Man is a great event at which to highlight these types of services because the attendees are open to new ideas and new experiences, and we are enthused to be a part of that.” |
Last year, a GSM network was provided using OpenBTS (an open-source GSM cell-station solution using Asterisk). OpenBTS uses the 900/1800MHz GSM handsets not normally seen in the USA (where 1900MHz is the norm). This year OpenBTS is back on-site, but this time interconnected with Voxbone such that every handset gets its own +883 number for dial out/dial in to other iNum networks.
Thus far iNum has seen take-up from VoIP providers, with limited interest from the incumbent telcos. The thought behind iNum is that ultimately everyone will have their own "Earth code" number that is completely portable across the globe, and allocated to an individual for life. Calls between +883 numbers should be free, or at least at a very low cost, reflecting the economic realities of our globally-interconnected packet data networks.
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