Facebook and its 5G development plans: What it means to the online community

It’s no longer a secret that Mark Zuckerberg isn’t only dreaming of making Facebook a top social media company. Its recent forays into avenues outside social networking — Messenger, virtual reality, even drones, satellites, and lasers — show that it’s off to becoming the next biggest tech brand in the world. The grandest of which, undeniably, is his goal of transforming his firm into a key force in connecting the world through 5G, the next-level Internet technology.

The company recently announced that its Connectivity Lab is working on various kinds of technology that would soon provide high-speed Internet connectivity in underdeveloped countries. It’s now building two terrestrial systems called the Terragraph and Project ARIES, antennas not only capable of delivering ultra-fast wireless networks, but also sidestepping lengthy licensing and exorbitant expenses that come along with traditional cabling installations.

Terragraph, a 60 GHz, multi-node wireless system, is designed specifically for dense urban areas. It no longer needs intricate underground cabling system or any circuitous wiring methodologies as it utilizes nodes, which will be perched on existing high poles or traffic lights. But WiGig, which is faster than WiFi at 60GHz frequency range and maximum data transmission rates of 7Gbps, remains weaker in terms of wall penetration capability. To solve this, Facebook will install four nodes for every pole (or post) to produce a stronger 360-degree WiGig coverage. Wi-Fi can also provide similar speeds though only for very short ranges in select places where other devices are nonexistent.

Facebook is also honest with its limitations. With this, Terragraphs will be installed across an area at 200- to 250-metre intervals. It’s also capable of routing around interference to provide a better connection to users during high-traffic moments. Its steering-and-routing feature will also enhance the signal’s penetrating limitations, as the technology available for unlicensed high-frequency bands such as smartphones operating only around 700MHz to 1.7GHz remains inadequate in terms of passing through thick building walls commonly found in urban areas.

On the other hand, Project ARIES, or Antenna Radio Integration for Efficiency in Spectrum, is designed to cater to residents in urban areas. Unlike installable Terragraphs, it’s a ring-like base station powered by 96 antennas capable of supporting 24 streams at 71 beats per second simultaneously over the same radio spectrum.

This means that a community can enjoy a strong Internet connection without having their own Wi-Fi modem at home. This could possibly pave the way for a communal network system administered, say, by local leaders, which can make the service cheaper and accessible for low-income earners in urban areas.

The project is the company's way of testing the waters if it could really provide efficient Internet via small antennas in areas located 40 kilometres from a city where faster Internet connectivity is typically present. As it’s still in its embryonic stage, Facebook has not revealed yet if how many base stations it needs to erect in a specific area to deliver uninterrupted, high-speed connection.

What makes Facebook’s 5G venture different from the strings of tech firms, telcos, and nations collaborating with each other to identify the potential of post-LTE technology commercialisation is that it centres on the community. Zuckerberg has no plans of building a branded network that will soon become a monopolised niche accessible only through partnering with them.

Wired reported in February that the company said that the success of these two projects remains highly dependent on the cooperation of telcos and ISPs across the world, suggesting that patenting the would-be innovations under Facebook’s name is already out of the question.

"The hope is that this will lead to better wireless networks — wireless networks that can keep up with all the stuff we’re doing on our cell phones, from listening to music and watching videos to, yes, diving into virtual reality. These really immersive experiences are all looming,” said Jay Parikh, Facebook's vice president of engineering, as he highlights its plan of “open-sourcing” its new inventions.

“They’re looming not only for the telcos but for, well, Facebook itself. That’s why the company is launching this new project. Facebook wants to ensure that the telcos can deliver all the video it will stream across its social network, all over the world, in the years to come,” he added.

Smaller tech brands also contribute to this worthy cause. For instance, San-Diego startup 5BARz International (OTCQB: BARZ), aids telcos in their infrastructure-upgrading efforts by offering their revolutionary plug-and-play technology to them. In 2015, the company successfully encouraged two Tier One telcos in India to utilise their product as they focus on improving their Internet technology and fixing its problem with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), its country’s telecom regulatory board.

The brand has repeatedly said that its main objective is to become a global force in alleviating network problems across the globe by delivering cost-efficient and state-of-the-art network extender technology. “Through our critically acclaimed product, we will help telco companies seamlessly migrate from current LTE speeds to 5G, which is scheduled for utilisation in first world countries in 2020,” said CEO Daniel Bland.

Giant tech firm Google’s 5G plans have also been overshadowed by that of Facebook. Its plan of beaming wireless technology directly to US homes — which could potentially bypass red tapes and expenses on installing fibre cables for Internet — appears simply as a mere ambitious plan to many as Google executives are still mum on its details.

Moreover, Facebook is the only company that has global plans of offering high-speed Internet to consumers and network providers. But as 2020 approaches, more innovations on the possible utilisation of 5G are expected to surface on the market. Brands and nations will collaborate anew for its expansions and improvements — especially for 5G’s much-awaited incorporation with the Internet of Things (IoT) — as it was when 3G and 4G were still on their nascent stage.