Facebook announced at the Telecom Infra Project summit in London its latest efforts to test new technology for delivering internet services. The company is expanding tests of its 60 GHz wireless system Terragraph to new countries, as well as working on more rural internet projects and network planning with operators.
The Terragraph system has already been tested in Malaysia with YTL Communications, Indonesia with XL Axiata and in Hungary with Magyar Telekom, a unit of Deutsche Telekom. The latter released a study at the summit on its experience with the technology, saying it offers a cheaper alternative to fibre for launching gigabit broadband services. Facebook announced that it will also be conducting field trials with Claro and Vivo in Brazil.
Intel announced earlier this year that it will be supporting Terragraph chipsets, and Radwin is developing Terragraph equipment to assist in the operator trials. Qualcomm debuted at the summit its family of 60GHz Wi-Fi Terragraph-certified chipsets that can cover multiple use-cases including fixed wireless access. As part of the TIP mmWave Networks Project Group, Deutsche Telekom issued an RFI for 60 GHz fixed wireless equipment to provide gigabit connectivity.
Facebook is also continuing its collaboration with Telefonica on OpenRAN, expanding pilots to qualify alternative and more flexible wireless access technology. The companies are also working on low-cost terrestrial backhaul, as well as new business and operating models such as rural mobile infrastructure operators and engaging local resources to help lower costs and speed deployments.
These joint efforts have helped bring financially sustainable connectivity to more than 25,000 Peruvians in the Amazon jungle and the highlands of Peru. Telefonica upgraded sites from 2G to 4G throughout rural Peru to bring new or improved connectivity to an additional 250,000 people.
Facebook also announced that it's extending its rural access efforts to more countries, including trials of rural 3G and 4G deployments in Nigeria and Zambia in partnership with MTN, and in collaboration with Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) and others. It's working with AMN to test OpenCellular and understand how the rural mobile infrastructure model can help unlock connectivity for more people throughout Africa, with trials in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, Facebook is working with Vodafone to advance its qualification of the OpenRAN solution, which enables rural connectivity by reducing costs and streamlining operations. The team plans to start in Turkey and expand to larger-scale deployments in rural and semi-rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa in future.
At the TIP Summit, Facebook is also highlighting how it's working with operators to help them optimize existing networks and build future-proof networks with connectivity analytics. For this, the company offers its Advanced Network Planning and Actionable Insights tools. The company recently worked with XL Axiata to identify ways to improve customer experience by expanding 4G coverage and optimizing XL Axiata’s current infrastructure investments. In Berlin, it's working with Deutsche Telekom to accelerate development of next-generation 5G networks using the Advanced Network Planning tools, which leverage computer vision and optimization algorithms to design dense urban networks at scale.
