Introducing 136BTS
An IS-136 (TDMA) base station running on an SDR, with support for calls and SMS.
136BTS is another one of our open-source cellular projects, providing an IS-136 (TDMA) base station for SDR with phone calls, SMS, and a web console.
IS-136 is a 2G digital cellular standard used in North America during the 1990s and early 2000s by operators such as AT&T Wireless and Cingular, before their transition to GSM. 136BTS implements this air interface on SDR, while 1xBTS implements CDMA2000.
Like 1xBTS, 136BTS is written in Rust and uses sdr-hal for radio access. Its optional SIP integration also uses the voice gateway from 1xBTS.
Calls and SMS
See the status page for supported features and known limitations.
For calls beyond the local cell, the optional SIP integration connects to a PBX or SIP provider. Calls to non-local numbers go to the configured peer, and incoming calls to a subscriber’s number ring that phone.
The SMS hub provides a similar connection for messaging through SMPP. Local messages stay within the cell, while messages to non-local numbers go to the hub. Both integrations are disabled by default.
Getting started
The getting-started guide covers installing dependencies, configuring the cell, and registering a phone. The cell’s channel and system ID need to match what the phone expects. Once it registers, add a subscriber and try a call or SMS from the console.
The source and documentation are available on GitHub under the Apache-2.0 license.