Patent records obtained by The Verge show that the social media giant is developing the millimetre wave technology — a networking technology that is theoretically capable of data speeds faster than most home connections and is 40 times faster than 4G.
Sanjai Kohli, a Facebook employee, filed one patent recently that describes a “Next Generation Data Network” that would connect computers using millimetre-wave radio links deployed as a mesh network.
Another patent granted to Kohli describes the “Next Generation Network” in more detail as a type of centralised, cloud-based routing system.
“The system dynamically adjusts route and frequency channel assignments, transmit power, modulation, coding, and symbol rate to maximise network capacity and probability of packet delivery, rather than trying to maximise the capacity of any one link,” the patent read.
Facebook confirmed to The Verge about the millimetre-wave research. “This work is part of the Connectivity Lab which supports the mission of Internet.org a” to connect the four billion people who don’t have Internet access,” a Facebook representative was quoted as saying.
The Connectivity Lab is reportedly working on several such projects, including systems that would provide connections through satellites or drone-mounted lasers.
The news also gives credibility to the announcement that Starry — a wireless internet company — made about its foray into the gigabit mesh network technology in January this year.
Both mesh and millimetre-wave technologies are central ideas in Starry’s scheme of things too.
