A newly developed moveable 5G community which runs totally on a single, credit score card-sized Raspberry PI pc might enable small companies and households to increase 5G protection and enhance capability – and at low-cost. 

The prototype 5G community constructed on a Raspberry Pi has been unveiled by Vodafone, which mentioned the industry-first idea can present an reasonably priced and moveable 5G community to customers. 

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Vodafone is showcasing the Raspberry Pi-powered 5G community as a part of the corporate’s plans to make cell personal networks (MPNs) extra accessible to the 22 million small-and-medium-sized enterprises throughout Europe, whereas additionally providing prolonged web protection to households. 

An MPM gives companies with a substitute for utilizing a public cell community by offering them with their very own quick and safe community connection. They’re presently primarily utilized in massive organisations, however Vodafone desires to assist small companies and households profit from improved connectivity. 

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The know-how is also adopted by people, who might use the portability of a Raspberry Pi, which means individuals might arrange their very own safe networks whereas utilizing their laptop computer or smartphone in a public place like a espresso store, or enhance connectivity in elements of their very own dwelling which a router struggles to succeed in. 

“We checked out what Raspberry Pi did for computing, by way of making it extra accessible to individuals of all ages, and we wished to do the identical with 5G,” mentioned Santiago Tenorio, Vodafone’s director of community structure. 

A designed by engineers at Vodafone’s new European R&D Centre in Málaga, the system is Raspberry Pi 4 with a small 5G appropriate embeddable software-defined radio (SDR) circuit board, which permits any computing machine to be become a mini 5G station. The system can be utilized as a devoted personal community, or as an extension of a bigger community. 

“While that is only a prototype, it has the potential to deliver new cloud, AI and massive knowledge applied sciences inside attain of most of the small companies we help throughout Europe,” mentioned Tenorio.