BOM Tiers¶
Three reference bills of materials. Prices are approximate street prices in USD, mid-2026, and vary by region and availability. No SKUs are guaranteed; use them as sizing anchors.
Dev Tier - Lab Only (~$200)¶
No RF. srsRAN zmq + srsUE, Open5GS, control plane - all in Docker Compose.
| Part | Example | Price |
|---|---|---|
| x86 mini-PC, 4 GB RAM, 256 GB NVMe | Beelink MINI S12 / N100-class (4 GB) | $150 |
| - or - 8 GB RAM variant (Dev Tier recommended) | Beelink MINI S12 / N100-class (8 GB) | $170 |
| USB 3.0 flash (unattended-upgrades log, optional) | 32 GB | $10 |
| Ethernet cable, PSU included | - | incl. |
| Total | ~$150–180 |
SDR not required; add any tier-2 SDR later without rework.
Community Tier - Private Network (~$450–850)¶
| Part | Example | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Compute: Intel NUC 8/10 class, 16 GB, 500 GB | NUC8i3 / similar | $350 |
| - or - CM4 (4/8 GB) + PoE HAT + carrier | Raspberry Pi CM4 + IO board | $180–220 |
| SDR (choose one) | LimeSDR Mini | $250 |
| USRP B200mini (premium path) | $1,000 | |
| GPSDO reference (recommended for RF) | OctoClock / Tallysman PPS board | $100–300 |
| 30 dB SMA attenuator + cables (bench) | generic kit | $25 |
| Enclosure | see enclosure.md |
$60–120 |
| Total (LimeSDR Mini) | ~$450–850 |
CBRS US - Certified Small Cell (~$2,000+)¶
Licensed shared access on 3.5 GHz (FCC Part 96) - not any USB SDR. The radio path must be certified; see docs/spectrum-and-law/cbrs.md for obligations.
| Part | Example | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Compute (NUC class, 16 GB) | NUC13 / similar | $400 |
| Certified small-cell radio path | certified 3.5 GHz small cell / eNB-class unit | $1,200–2,500 |
| SAS client | certified SAS client (software or vendor-hosted) | $0–500/yr |
| GPS (required by Part 96) | GPSDO with PPS, antenna | $150–300 |
| Enclosure + RF cabling | per enclosure.md |
$100–150 |
| Total | ~$2,000–3,900 |
Certification Obligations (Non-Negotiable)¶
- The radio must be FCC-certified for the band and output class used.
- A certified SAS client must be used; Fairwave's own mock SAS is for development only and never grants authority to transmit.
- Every spectrum grant must come from a real SAS instance against the certified client.
- EIRP must stay within the grant and the permit; the box's
tx/armpolicy must be set accordingly.
Notes Common to All Tiers¶
- USB 3.0: SDR should own a dedicated controller; avoid sharing with bulk storage.
- PSUs: 12 V/5 V derived from quality supplies; a 30–60 W budget covers mini-PC + SDR.
- Prices exclude antennas (user-provided, band-specific).