Facebook launches open-source wireless access platform for remote areas

Monday, July 11, 2016

Facebook is clearly very serious about its mission to connect the world and in the process, it has launched solar-powered drones that use lasers to connect to each other and the ground, and more prosaic efforts like new antennas for covering both urban and rural areas.

Today, Facebook is expanding this work with the launch of OpenCellular, a new open source hardware and software project that aims to bring a more affordable wireless access platform to remote areas.

“One of the reasons the expansion of cellular networks has stalled is that the ecosystem is constrained,” Facebook engineer Kashif Ali writes. “Traditional cellular infrastructure can be very expensive, making it difficult for operators to deploy it everywhere and for smaller organizations or individuals to solve hyperlocal connectivity challenges. It’s often unaffordable for them to attempt to extend network access in both rural and developed communities.”

Source: Tech Crunch (link opens in a new window)

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