A really good video from PA Consulting on the power of open source hardware being used to cut the development and implementation cost of RF hardware. In this case the company has developed an open source base station using the Raspberry Pi and open source software connected to a transceiver.
Worth looking at to see what can be done.
This uses the Ettus USRP B100 transceiver, one of the cheapest commercial RF processors. [Warning, self serving plug… sorry] the cost can therefore be cut even further using the Myriad RF board, which also gives greater flexibility, allowing you to do this on any frequency or standard.