Quortus and Lime Microsystems have announced the availability of PocketEPC – a complete cellular core network realized as an App – via the LimeNET Ubuntu App Store. By combining the LimeNET hardware platform with PocketEPC, the two companies allow any developer to rapidly and cost-effectively create complete 4G (or 5G / IoT) networks.

Delivered as an Ubuntu Snap and priced at just £150 (less than $200 USD), PocketEPC for the LimeNET platform promises to revolutionize the mobile industry’s value equation, with a shift away from proprietary solutions towards open hardware with apps running on top. This low-cost platform makes it technically possible for a wide variety of individuals and organizations to develop cellular-based applications utilizing unlicensed spectrum, or spectrum obtained from operators as a service.

“PocketEPC is a powerful tool for innovation,” said Ebrahim Bushehri, Lime CEO. “We’re working with Quortus to create a rich edge-app ecosystem that will support academia, commercial developers, and individuals, and open up cellular technology in a way that has never been seen before.”

Andy Odgers, Quortus Founder and CEO, commented, “LimeNET and its surrounding ecosystem is making a real impact on the way the industry develops cellular applications and services. We’ve seen ample evidence of this at events like the BT Infinity Labs / Lime Mini Hackathon, which achieved an unprecedented response, and spawned some tremendously innovative work.”

PocketEPC is the flagship product in a new range of edge function apps from Quortus. Certified against target hardware, NFV containers, or virtual machines (VMs), the family includes a variety of virtualized 3GPP standards-compliant core network functions, collapsed into a super-efficient software instance.

Edge computing is a key enabler for the mobile industry’s current transition to next-generation 5G networks. Quortus’ app-based approach provides a particularly suitable platform for the development of enterprise-grade cellular applications, with reference use cases that range from small-to-medium enterprise (SME) to utilities and healthcare. The enterprise can customize and manage the solution, while the mobile operator (MNO) gains the ability to tailor solutions specifically for the needs of its enterprise customers. Defined APIs to the edge computing solution will foster the creation of a strong App development community, and a wider ecosystem to develop further ideas.

Developers working with LimeNET and LimeSDR platforms can obtain PocketEPC from the Lime/Ubuntu App Store via http://limenet.limemicro.com.

Jessica the LimeNET Team