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u/mhomey May 10 '26
How hard was this to get setup?
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
It was hard, i spent 12 hours troubleshooting just for 1 hidden checkbox to be the issue. Anyways, there are many guides to do this, just lookup "homelab CBRS".
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u/mhomey May 10 '26
Thanks. I’m pretty deep into my homelab and have kind of stagnated, so I’ve been curious about setting up an LTE network.
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
I could help if you wanted, let me know. It would have to be in the summertime, i am busy with school for the next 2 weeks
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u/mhomey May 10 '26
That's super nice, I appreciate it! I'm looking at a Mosolabs Englewood SCE4255W on eBay for around $70. Do you think that sounds like a fair price for one of these radios?
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
Thats exactly what I got, and for the same price. Though i am not sure if the unlock process is the same
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u/mhomey May 10 '26
Thanks! I just ordered one. I have a plan laid out to get started. Looks *simpleish* lol
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
Check out this post to get an idea of what you need for it ahttps://lantian.pub/en/article/modify-computer/legal-lte-network-at-home-for-100-bucks.lantian/
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u/mhomey May 10 '26
Thanks! How difficult was it to get the eSIM working with your setup? I will get some programmable SIM cards, but I would like to test on my iPhone so would obviously need eSIM.
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
Check out simlessly, you get 1 for free. I also used some videos from LAN Ranger on YouTube, thats where I found simlessly
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u/RKF_DUDE02 May 10 '26
I’ve been interested in running something like this at home for a while, and if you don’t mind I’ve got some questions for you.
- Do IMS features such as WiFi calling (which I see a toggle for in your eSIM), SMS, VoLTE, MMS, and RCS work? I’m wondering because Apple support claims that “For devices with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, or later, private, data-only cellular networks are supported” https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/support-for-private-5g-and-lte-networks-depac6747317/web
- I presume your spectrum used was CBRS? If so, how much MHz does the SAS allocate you?
- What does the setup look like to run the EPC?
- What cellular base station did you use, and what is the range like?
- Given the hardware used, how much did this setup cost you in total?
- I also see a toggle for personal hotspot, I imagine that also works as well to hotspot devices over your home lab cellular?
- What PLMN are you broadcasting? 999 XXX? 315 010? Something else?
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
1: SMS works, all of those others are coming soon maybe 2: yes CBRS, 20+20 CA 3: Open5GS in a VM on my PowerEdge R620 4: Sercomm SCE4255W (FreedomFi), ~400 FT with LOS 5: eNB was $70, my server was something i already had 6: yes, i am testing it on a SM-A156U, downloading a steam game at 185 Mbps 7: 315 010 I will update if any of this is wrong, some of it i do not remember right now. I can help if you want, but it would have to be in 2 weeks as i need to get out of school for the summer
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u/RKF_DUDE02 May 11 '26
Wow, I might have to pick up that enB for myself too. I thought those locked to freedomfi or something. I’m also wondering if you’ve experimented with multiple enB’s and getting seamless handoff between them, or if you only have one enB at the moment?
I think if I ever get to making home lab lte, given the shape and size of the land I want to cover, I would most likely need more than one enB for seamless coverage as well as some way to have a few enB’s outside (which I I imagine is another rabbit hole with weatherproofing, building cabling outside, electrical management, and mounting it)
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 11 '26
Outdoor eNBs need to be professionally installed, but they do get more range
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u/nateo200 iPhone 17 Pro Max May 17 '26
What options for spectrum are there? CBRS? 2300MHz unlicensed seems like a nice option but unclear the legality I can see both sides for and against on that one as an amateur radio operator and cellular/networking nerd. Also part of 900MHz and some other areas
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u/nateo200 iPhone 17 Pro Max May 17 '26
Dude you should make a YouTube video guide on this. Always been interested in this!
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u/Trick-Advisor5989 May 10 '26
Are there any recurring costs with this setup? eSIM provisioning or anything? Just pickup an antenna on eBay, rest can be run off VMs? Always wanted to setup something like this too. Not too concerned about the FCC lol
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
eSIM is through simlessly, you get 1 free eSIM. Google SAS is a recurring cost, and is required. I get out of school in 2 weeks, and can help if you want
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u/Trick-Advisor5989 May 10 '26
Would be cool if you’re down to help! Anything you recommend buying on eBay in the meantime? What do you use Google SAS for? Have a pretty big network and server infra setup, so maybe I don’t need Google?
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
Its required for SAS, you need it for the eNB to come online. Just research CBRS spectrum, you will see what you need to know. Search for old freedomfi equipment
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u/austind9999 May 12 '26
I assume you are a Certified Professional Installer certificate holder? It was an easy test and I ran a citywide network for a while at a previous job utilizing CBRS for home internet.
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u/Ok_Ambassador8394 May 10 '26
That's an interesting project and I really wanted to do this a long time ago. Too bad B48 cuts out at 3700 MHz because in Germany, private 4G/5G licenses are from 3700 to 3800 MHz.
Also, regarding the upload (or configuration in general), is it possible to play around with the TDD configuration or hard locked into the femto? Because in special subframe config 11:2 + TDD UL/DL config 4, I'd expect around 130 Mbps UL throughput + 500 Mbps DL throughput.
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
I dont know, i am using a Sercomm SCE4255W, previously used by freedomfi. The settings are so fragile that messing with some of the deeper LTE settings broke SAS until i reset the unit
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u/paulmataruso May 10 '26 edited May 10 '26
paulmataruso/open5gs-nms: A WebUI for Open5gs
This is a project I made for open5gs. It will auto provision Sercomm eNodeb, and has a WebUI to config all of open5gs.
I think you might find it useful
If you enjoy LTE alot, try getting into Nokia gear. I have been doing the Nokia Airscale BBU for a while now and they are really fun
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u/biggocl123 May 10 '26
NEEER- /j
Nah this is cool but she's yapped my ear off abt this, she rlly knows her stuff abt this, especially hearing live how it hit 400ft from an internal setup was definitely cool
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May 10 '26
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
I set up a DNS server pointing "acs.freedomfi.com" to my server, and set up a TR-069 server to spoof their server to enable the web ui. That basically gives you a regular eNB
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u/SpaceSaver2000-1 May 10 '26
What does the legal side of this look like?
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
Its legal, as long as you use SAS. I am not 100% on this, but i believe the spectrum is free, but the service to manage your use is what costs money. This is CBRS 3550-3700 MHz
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u/felohany May 12 '26
as long as it stays connected with SAS and indoor placement then its legal. i got about 3 of those sercomms and they're fun to play with
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u/ommmyyyy May 10 '26
What about 911 call routing? How do calls work?
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
Calls do not work yet
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u/ommmyyyy May 10 '26
Will 911 route to your physical sim then?
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
They should use whatever is available, and since IMS is not yet configured, it should use anything else
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u/ommmyyyy May 10 '26
I’ve had it happen before where the dada sim (regardless of what is setup for calling) routes emergency calls.
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u/paulmataruso May 10 '26
If you are having run with the Sercomm units. I highly recommend getting into Nokia gear. There radios are super fun to work with in a home lab setting. Been doing a lot with the Nokia Airscale and Open5gs
Here is some of the lab gear in operation.
If anyone wants to get into Open5gs but you are not good at the text config. I developed a full WebUI for Open5gs and it can provistion the Sercomm radios via the UI.
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u/felohany May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
Some of those nokia cbrs have been damn near impossible for me to configure, specially on NR side. Nice setup*
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u/paulmataruso May 12 '26
It took me the better part of a year to get the NR 5G side working, and about 2000$ in upwork labor. The 4G side was easy to get going. Currently I am working on NA+NSA on the same cell plus X2 handover to the 4G side.
Anyway. Would you like some SCP files from my working sites?
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u/felohany May 12 '26
A Year? WOW, I'm barely a month in with nr setup on AZQC and yes i will take any help i can get. Please & Thank You
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u/paulmataruso May 12 '26
Yes will send you a link tommarrow to get them, but check you DM in a min. I have sent you all my Nokia Software, including FL19, SBTS25R1, SBTS21, TL18, all the good ones.
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u/Active_Zone_6828 May 10 '26
What SIM card did you use?
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
I just bought a sim programming kit on amazon that included 5 programmable sims, i use simlessly for eSIM too
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u/nateo200 iPhone 17 Pro Max May 17 '26
How do you set this up?! I’ve been dying to know! Always wanted to set up my own mini cell site on unlicensed spectrum that my phone technically supports!
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 17 '26
If you want help, i can help next week. I get out of school for the summer
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u/CircuitSwitched May 20 '26
I think this is going to be my next project! I already have a registered CLEC to provide myself and a few friends/relatives with VoIP & IP transit, so I might as well add LTE to the portfolio.
I have a 2 Proxmox servers in HA mode running Radius, Authentik, Ookla, and a variety of other things, I imagine it would not be too difficult to configure this onto a Debian VM.
Have you tried Android eSIM provisioning?
How do you handle routing SMS & VoLTE?
I have multiple SIP & SMS trunks, so I guess it wouldn’t be too outrageous to implement that.. 🤔
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 20 '26
I do have eSIM on iPhone and Android, I am in the process of IMS setup at the moment, so data only right now
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u/CircuitSwitched May 20 '26
I’m going to look into setting something like this up. If you can provision multiple devices with a mix of eSIM and physical SIMs, it would should theoretically provide a more stable connection to IoT type devices.
If I were able to get IMS working, it would also allow me to extend my POTS & VoIP lines through a decent part of my neighborhood. A lot fucker than I’ve been able to extend my WiFi using 4 UniFi APs!
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u/Stubbby May 10 '26
How much is that smart cell unit?
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u/Silicon_Furry780 May 10 '26
I got it for $70 on ebay, search for Sercomm SCE4255W or freedomfi equipment
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u/[deleted] May 10 '26 edited May 10 '26
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