Terragraph Grows Toward Urban and Rural Fixed Wireless

Terragraph, Facebook's gigabit wireless technology, is designed to deliver fiber-like speeds without trenching cable. Several partners are now putting it to work in commercial and pilot deployments. Common Networks has combined Terragraph's networking features with its own Wireless Graph Network technology and the Qualcomm 60 GHz Wi-Fi chipset to launch the first commercial deployment of wireless rooftop hardware for 1 Gbps fixed wireless home internet. Cambium Networks is integrating Terragraph mesh networking into its 60 GHz gigabit radios for last-mile access in homes, enterprises, and multi-dwelling buildings. AeroNet is running pilot programs in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, and YTL Communications is testing Terragraph in George Town, Malaysia, to improve speeds and offer free public Wi-Fi in the UNESCO heritage city.

Evenstar Targets General-Purpose OpenRAN Radios

As a founding member of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), Facebook has announced Evenstar remote radio units (RRUs) alongside Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Mavenir, Parallel Wireless, MTI, and AceAxis. The program aims to create general-purpose 4G/5G radio access network (RAN) reference designs aligned with 3GPP and O-RAN specifications. By separating RRU hardware, distribution unit, and control unit software—traditionally sold as a single package—Evenstar gives mobile network operators the ability to choose best-of-breed components from a growing set of technology partners. Facebook hopes to contribute the proposed solution to the TIP OpenRAN project group to speed adoption.

Magma Open Source Draws More Operators

Magma, the open-source mobile core network platform Facebook released at MWC 2019, is seeing wider industry adoption. iConecta, with system integrator Arcangelli, has chosen Magma for fixed wireless access. Mirantis is using it to let mobile operators offload cellular data at the network edge. Several unnamed operators are exploring Magma for mobile broadband offerings. Interoperability tests have been completed with eNodeBs from Baicells Technologies and VNL, and the platform has gained zero-touch provisioning and hitless upgrades.

Satellite and NaaS for Rural Coverage

With roughly 1.4 billion people still unconnected or underconnected in rural and peri-urban areas, Facebook is pushing two models: satellite-backed Wi-Fi and network as a service (NaaS).

On the satellite side, Viasat is using Facebook Connectivity solutions alongside its Community Wi-Fi hotspot service in Mexico. Hughes Network Systems and Hispasat are powering commercial internet access through the Express Wi-Fi platform in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, with expansion planned elsewhere. New satellite partnerships have been formed with YahClick and Thaicom.

NaaS, meanwhile, lets mobile operators extend service into rural areas without capital expenditure, using shared cellular infrastructure run by a third party. Internet para Todos Peru (IpT)—created with Facebook, Telefonica, IDB Invest, and CAF—is the first nationwide rural NaaS provider. Since mid-2019, it has covered about 1.5 million rural Peruvians with 4G, roughly 25% of its goal of reaching 6 million people.

In Brazil, Facebook is working with service providers on a NaaS proof of concept aimed at the more than 20 million Brazilians in rural areas with limited or no 4G coverage. The model would let regional ISPs use existing resources to operate LTE networks more efficiently. Trials are planned for late 2020, with scale deployments targeted for 2021.

Fiber Builds in DRC, Indonesia, and Nigeria

An estimated 70% of the world's population lives more than 10 kilometers from fiber infrastructure, and new deployments are underway in three markets.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Facebook partnered with Airtel and Vodacom to complete the country's first privately led long-haul fiber route, running from Muanda to Matadi. The project includes metro fiber in select cities and links to the national electrical grid's fiber network to Kinshasa. It stabilizes international connectivity from DRC's sole cable landing station in Muanda and serves the country's western provinces.

In Indonesia, Alita and Facebook are investing in over 1,800 miles (3,000 kilometers) of metro fiber connecting more than 1,000 cell sites. This is Facebook's largest single terrestrial fiber investment in Asia to date, and when complete it will bring higher-speed internet to more than 10 million people across Bali, Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi.

In Nigeria, Facebook has partnered with the Edo State Government, MainOne, and Tizeti to expand online training for more than 2,000 local teachers via the Workplace for Good program. Edo State has also committed to connecting 100 new schools, using Facebook's fiber investments with MainOne and the Express Wi-Fi platform to serve surrounding communities and provide more than 15,000 students and teachers with continued internet access. This builds on the open-access fiber deployment in Edo and Ogun states announced in 2019.

Facebook is also working with partners on a new technology aimed at significantly reducing the cost of aerial fiber deployments, with a first deployment expected soon.

Express Wi-Fi Adds Partners and Devices

BaliTower is launching Express Wi-Fi to expand connectivity in Indonesia. Additionally, Cisco, Edgecore, IgniteNet, Inventum, and Tanaza are joining the Express Wi-Fi Technology Partner Program to build compatible hardware and software.

The connectivity push is already showing tangible effects. In rural Bahia, Brazil, for instance, satellite partners have connected communities with fewer than 500 people, allowing ambulance drivers to communicate more easily during emergencies and helping a local catering business increase sales through online orders.