Facebook announces the open source wireless communication platform "OpenCellular", to improve the Internet infrastructure in remote areas

As of the end of 2015, the number of people who can not connect to the Internet is about 4 billion people, and about 10% of the world population live in an impossible remote area of ​​Internet connection. Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg believes that everywhere in the world should be able to connect to the Internet and it is an open source wireless communications platform "OpenCellularWe announced.

Introducing OpenCellular: An open source wireless access platform | Engineering Blog | Facebook Code | Facebook
https://code.facebook.com/posts/1754757044806180/introducing-opencellular-an-open-source-wireless-access-platform

OpenCellular announced by Facebook is a wireless communication platform developed to improve the network infrastructure of people who live in areas that can not connect to the Internet, cost effective, it becomes possible to define and control by software It is.


OpenCellular consists of two subsystems: General-Baseband Computer (GBC), which is versatile and capable of managing system functions and environmental functions (such as temperature monitor), and high frequency integrated at the analog front end It is said that there is. The announced terminal can support communication standards from 2G to LTE.

By open sourcing OpenCellular's hardware design, firmware, and software on Facebook, communications carriers, entrepreneurs, OEMs, and researchers will be able to develop network infrastructure in regions where they can not connect to the Internet. Also, as costs are greatly reduced by open source, we are expecting not only existing companies such as communication carriers but also new companies like startups.

OpenCellular is about the size of a shoe box and can support up to 1500 people within 10 km. By the summer of 2016, OpenCellular software will be released.


In order to provide the Internet to the remote site for Facebook, outside of OpenCellularAirline size Wi-Fi droneWe are proceeding with development of.