Building a Cost-effective Cellular Network using OpenBTS and USRP B210

The paper presents the development and implementation of a global system for mobile communication (GSM) network using OpenBTS and software-defined radio (SDR) that imitates the traditional GSM architecture. Compared to the traditional GSM architecture, the use of a software-based framework is cost-effective and useful for research in man-in-the-middle attacks. The paper provides a step-by-step installation of OpenBTS software, a software-based GSM architecture running on an Ubuntu 16.04 LTS operating system. The proposed setup was deployed and tested successfully and, in the end, subscribers were registered on the test network and given phone numbers that could make and receive phone calls and send text messages, which are regular features of the traditional GSM network