Facebook announced the new Telecom Infra Project that would involve a collaboration between operators, system integrators, infrastructure providers and other technology-focused companies in the creation of new technologies and to freely share the work with the telecoms in the world.
Some of the project's early partners include telcos such as Germany's Deutsche Telekom, South Korea's SK Telecom, United Kingdom's EE and Philippines' Globe Telecom.
"To kick-start this work, TIP members such as Facebook, Intel, and Nokia have pledged to contribute an initial suite of reference designs, while other members such as operators Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom will help define and deploy the technology as it fits their needs," wrote Jay Parikh, Global Head of Engineering and Infrastructure at Facebook.
Parikh adds that members of the TIP will collaborate and contribute designs that focus on three key areas. These include backhaul, access and core and management.
The project also involves the creation of new hardware which would definitely bring a number of advantages to the telcos. First, it would allow them to connect more consumers with increased efficiency. Next, it promises to bring enhanced connections to consumers who are already connected.
With more people getting connected and gaining more content access, Facebook will add millions more to its user base on top of the existing ones.
Parikh adds that as the project moves forward, members will collaborate on accelerating the development of certain technologies such as 5G. With this effort, enhanced connectivity and more meaningful services are assured.
Nokia, along with Facebook and Intel, are all contributing on the project's initial reference designs. The company will also publish an open specification meant for the operability interface of a radio access run time environment.
SK Telecom, the largest wireless carrier in South Korea, plans to share network technology and 5G according to the principles of virtualization.
Facebook had spearheaded the initiative with the launch of its Open Compute Project which aimed to promote standard, commodity designs of hardware and data center specifications to make them affordable.
Facebook's Telecom Infra Project is all about expanding connectivity. It wants operators to confidently adopt new models and make them sustainable. In short, the project wants operators and the telecom industry to become more efficient, innovative and flexible.
