Facebook has designed an open source, software-defined wireless access platform aimed at improving connectivity in remote areas of the world where it's costly to deploy standard mobile networks. The OpenCellular platform can be deployed to support a range of communication options, from a network in a box to an access point supporting Wi-Fi to LTE.
The system is composed of two main subsystems: general-purpose and base-band computing with integrated power and housekeeping system, and radio frequency with integrated analogue front-end. Facebook said it plans to open-source the hardware design, along with necessary firmware and control software, to enable telecom operators, businesses and researchers to build, implement and operate local wireless infrastructure based on the platform.
The company expects other members of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) to contribute to the system's development, including trials for validating the technical, functional and operational aspects of the platform. Tests already conducted at Facebook HQ with the first reference design show the system can send and receive SMS, make voice calls, and use basic data connectivity over a 2G implementation.
