Facebook trials high-speed Terragraph tech in Kuala Lumpur

FACEBOOK will be testing its high-speed Terragraph technology in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, making it one of only two cities in the world to experience the innovation before global rollout.

The new Terragraph system has been “multi-node wireless system focused on bringing high-speed internet connectivity to dense urban areas”, and is said to run on frequency as that proposed for 5G cellular networks.

According to The Star, the social media giant made the announcement at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, where Facebook’s global head of engineering and infrastructure Jay Parikh shared that the company plans to upgrade existing networks and build new networks in under-connected regions.

He added Facebook will employ new technologies and tools to help connect the 3.8 billion global population who are not online while improving the experiences of those who are connected

“Technologies utilizing millimeter-wave frequencies require precise line-of-sight planning to avoid interference. To address these challenges, we are leveraging computer vision and network optimization models to identify which street furniture – city infrastructure such as traffic lights and stop signs – can be used to deploy these new networks,” Parikh said.

Other than Kuala Lumpur, Budapest in Hungary has been named the second city to undergo the trial.

Parikh pointed out that Facebook’s partnership with Telefonica successfully extended mobile coverage in the rural parts of Peru last year, bringing with it high-speed mobile internet enjoyed by tens of thousands of residents in the remote highlands and Amazonian rainforest.

The collaboration in Peru, he said, will be replicated in other countries, emphasizing on rural and semi-urban connectivity.

He said Facebook is also launching an initiative with Orange to improve connectivity in Africa.

“By working together as a community, we believe we can help operators build more robust and flexible networks necessary to meet new technology challenges and unlock new ways of connecting people,” Parikh said.

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