[asterisk-biz] Re: GSM Gateway and Asterisk - No callerID

[Conrad Wood]

On Thu, 2006-03-16 at 10:32 +0000, Steve Kennedy wrote:
> On Thu, Mar 16, 2006 at 09:59:31AM -0000, Steve Langstaff wrote:
> 
> > Strange (but possibly true). It sounds like a business can run an internal department to implement such gateways, complete with intra-company cost transfers I guess, and yet that function cannot be outsourced to another company. 
> 
> Blame the mobile operators, they complained to Ofcom who clarified and
> made it illegal (as a gateway is NOT mobile).
> 
> Now if someone put a gateway on some railway tracks or equiv and had it
> moving around, then it possibly would be legal ;)


I just had a look at ofcoms site and I found the link to "The scope of
mobile operators' 2G cellular licences issued under section 1(1) of the
Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 and the legal status of the use of GSM
gateways" published 3/3/2005 [1]. Is that what you're referring to?

Whilst I'm by no means an authority on this I'd guess that [1],
paragraph 15 limits the use of _any_ gsm equipment, so that airtime
through it cannot be re-sold. Furthermore paragraph 45-48 suggest that
even if you had a network operator 2G license, the GSM-gateway would be
illegal because it acts as a mobile not a gsm station.

Whilst I in no way intend to do that, I think it even makes it illegal
to *commercially* route calls via your bluetooth mobile
(chan_bluetooth) ;-)

So to make this legal, I need to get a network operator license, radio
licence and a gsm base station and transmitter? Assuming I can persuade
the big operators to peer with me for a decent price once I explained to
them what I want to do? Sure! ;-) 

[1]
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/bulletins/comp_bull_index/comp_bull_ccases/closed_all/cw_806/gsmg/gsmg_consult/gsmg.pdf