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diff --git a/2011/gsm-ensa2011/abstract.txt b/2011/gsm-ensa2011/abstract.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2a3542c --- /dev/null +++ b/2011/gsm-ensa2011/abstract.txt @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +Free Software for GSM networks + +During its 25 year history, Free Software has ventured in many areas of +computing, such as TCP/IP networks, Internet servers, personal computers, +laptops, desktop computers, embedded devices, and so on. + +However, there are other areas of computing that - until very recently - have +not yet seen any Free Software. One prime example is cellular telephony +networks. More than 3 billion subscribers use GSM cellular phones around the +world. All components in the public GSM networks are proprietary +both on the network side and on the telephon side. + +The cellular networks consist of components like base stations, telephone +switches, all running proprietary software. + +The cellular phones - even those running Free Software based operating systems +liek Android - have a separate computer called "baseband processor" that +interacts with the GSM network and runs proprietary software. + +Since 2009, projects like OpenBTS, OpenBSC and OsmocomBB have been created to +change this. They all implement components of a GSM network as Free Software. + +Harald Welte is the founder of OpenBSC and OsmocomBB. He will discuss the +proprietary nature of the GSM world, the progress of Free Software in GSM +and how the GSM related Free Software projects can be used in research +and production. |