Monday, May 21, 2018

Qualcomm, Facebook Team On High Speed, 60Ghz Wireless Networking

San Diego-based Qualcomm and Facebook announced this morning that the two are teaming together to provide high speed Internet connectivity in urban areas, using 60Ghz technology from Qualcomm. According to the two, they are using Terragraph technology from Facebook combined with the high speed 60Ghz wireless technology from Qualcomm to develop high speed broadband service in urban areas. The two said they are expecting to begin trials of the solution in mid-2019. The new system will use Qualcomm's CA6438 and QCA6428 family of pre-802.11ay chipsets, which operate in the millimeter wave wireless band. Facebook's Terragraph project is aimed at providing high-speed internet connectivity to dense urban areas, using off-the-shelf components. Facebook says that the 60Ghz band requires high speed nodes to be placed every 200-250 meters across a city, in order to overcome issues with signal absorption issues.