Qualcomm has given its backing to Facebook's Terragraph technology to develop wireless broadband services in the 60 GHz band. The chipmkaer announced that the companies will work together to develop a multi-node wireless system based on 60GHz technology from Qualcomm Technologies. The new system is expected to improve the speed, efficiency and quality of internet connectivity in urban areas at a fraction of the cost of fibre deployments.
Qualcomm Technologies will integrate its QCA6438 and QCA6428 family of pre-802.11ay chipsets with Facebook's Terragraph technology. This effort will help enable manufacturers to build mmWave products using the unlicensed 60GHz spectrum and provide fixed wireless access to consumers in urban areas. The companies expect to begin trials of the integrated solution by mid-2019.
Facebook’s Terragraph technology supports broadband connectivity through a network based on millimeter-wave wireless backhaul. It is based on the pre-802.11ay standard with enhancements provided by the Qualcomm Technologies’ chipset and the integrated software between Facebook and Qualcomm Technologies to support efficient outdoor operation and avoid interference in dense environments. Specifically, Qualcomm Technologies has optimized its system for outdoor backhaul by introducing a number of enhancements such as TDMA-based protocol, time synchronized nodes, channel bonding and massive antenna array among others, to overcome large obstacles in dense urban environments, deliver high-capacity coverage, and the potential to reduce costs and time to market.
