Facebook announced on Wednesday, July 6, that it is working on a project called OpenCellular to design a virtually indestructible shoebox-sized cellular access point that that can support any signal from 2G to LTE.
According to PC Mag, giant lasers and drones are not the only ways to spread Internet access everywhere in the world. OpenCellular, along with the high-bandwidth laser beams and the solar-powered aircraft Aquila, is the next step on Facebook's journey to provide better and more affordable connectivity.
Facebook describes its OpenCellular project on a blog post. According to the high-tech company, the project will be implemented gradually and it is currently still in its very early stages. The open access point box has been only used at Facebook's headquarters to make voice calls, send and receive SMS messages and to get basic data connectivity using 2G.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees the OpenCellular project as a key component Facebook's drive to provide an open system to connect the unconnected. The project is open to anyone needs to operate wireless networks in remote places, from entrepreneurs and researchers to telecom operators, according to Zuckerberg's post on Facebook. The OpenCellular device can support up to 1,500 people from as far as 10 kilometers away and it is only about the size of a shoe box.
The OpenCellular box's radio and processor are designed to be powered from whatever source is available, including direct current, solar, Power-over-ethernet or external and internal batteries. The box runs an open source software that Facebook plans to release publicly this summer.
According to Tech Crunch, the constrained ecosystem present today is one of the reasons the expansion of cellular networks has stalled. Because the traditional cellular infrastructure could be very expensive, it might be difficult for operators to deploy it everywhere. Facebook's new project aims to develop affordable new technology that can make it more cost-effective for operators to deploy networks in remote areas where coverage is scarce.
