We’ve been hearing of ideas by internet hulks Facebook and Google about transporting internet connectivity to everyone on Planet Earth. We’ve heard of Scheme Loon and others, which required to use everything from drones to air balloons to provide internet to the farthest regions of this planet.
Today, those plans are one step nearer to becoming reality.
Enter Open Cellular – An Open Source Wireless Access Platform
Declared by Mark Zuckerberg earlier today, Open Cellular is a stage for getting internet connectivity to 4 billion persons without it.
It’s an open-source system, which means that anyone can fiddle with it and it’s open to all. Facebook won’t be the one regulatory it, which can go a long way in speaking the common of its opponents.
It’s the size of a shoebox and for something so small, Zuckerberg has specified that it can support 1,500 people from up to a distance of 10 kilometers!
Given the open nature of the system, the shoe-box-sized gizmo can be used by anybody from telecom corporations, students, and businesspersons. This means its applications won’t be just limited to enabling internet access for all but also startups who can adjust it to offer their services to users.
How Will Open Cellular Work?
Zuckerberg has specified that Facebook will propose internet connectivity to the box-sized hardware via their solar-powered aircraft Aquila. These drones will procedure high-bandwidth laser beams to connect folks with the internet. These boxes can be fitted at poles or turrets.
Since the system is open, other countries can also use similar aircraft, networking mechanisms or other current infrastructure such as cellular towers to offer internet in the farthest areas. Open Cellular strength is in both its variety and high bandwidth feature.
There’s no word on how much it will price and what industry values will the Open Cellular box support. But we expect Mark to update us all in the days ahead.
