Why Is Meta Shutting Down Its Connectivity Division?
Nearly ten years after the initiative’s inception, Meta apparently shut down its Connectivity branch. The division will now be split between the infrastructure and central products teams at the corporation, according to The Verge. In order for consumers to access the company’s social networks, Meta Connectivity, formerly known as Facebook Connectivity, was launched in 2013.
The corporation created and later shelved a project through the programme that envisaged using high-flying, autonomous drones to beam the internet to far-flung regions of the globe. It also concentrated on developing a Starlink-like satellite-based internet network in low Earth orbit, but Amazon hired the group responsible for it last year
Although the exact date of Meta’s Connectivity division’s closure is still unknown, its absence last month’s layoffs and organisational changes, which resulted in the loss of 11,000 positions at the firm, are consistent with the disappearance Since the corporation is heavily funding CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s expensive quest to create the metaverse, Meta anticipates significant losses in 2023.
In addition to large initiatives like satellites, drones, and an internet-connected helicopter, Meta Connectivity provided free internet in impoverished nations, allowing users to access only Facebook and a few other websites. This division most likely began around ten years ago with attempts to subsidise internet connections in developing countries and areas.
The Internet.org and Free Basics initiatives would effectively provide free access to Facebook and some packaged services in areas where connectivity was pricey. This sparked outrage at the time, with some angry that a US company thought it should step in to solve another country’s problems, others concerned that the same company would essentially control access and content in violation of net neutrality policies, and still others seeing the ostensibly charitable endeavour as Facebook buying global market share.
In 2015, the corporation disclosed plans for the Aquila, an entirely unexpected high-altitude drone that would utilise lasers to connect people below it. This grandiose project had a difficult couple of years, beginning with a rocky landing in 2016 and eventually being permanently grounded in 2018. Meanwhile, they were aiming even higher with an early effort at a low Earth orbit satellite communication system, set to debut in September 2016.
Unfortunately, Facebook did not give up, but it is worth noting that its next satellite internet business, PointView Tech, has filed experimental FCC licensing paperwork in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021… but not this year. However, not everything the Connectivity division did took to the skies. As they were presumably reminded every time they mentioned drones and lasers, what is actually needed is fibre backhaul and robust traditional wireless infrastructure so that underserved areas may connect just like everyone else.
To that goal, Meta has collaborated with the Telecom Infra Project to develop new software, hardware, and standards to improve the accessibility and maintainability of telecommunications networks. Because the legacy sector dominates this space, new entrants have a potentially big opportunity to change things. Meta and Google, for example, have invested in subsea cables and fibre that serve both their own and public transportation needs.
However, since Connectivity has been divided into pieces, it is impossible to predict which projects will be pursued, supported, and so on.
Must Read:-
-
-
- Top 10 pharma companies in the world
- Top 10 company of India 2021
- Top 10 logistic Companies in India 2021
- Top 10 automobile companies in India 2021
- Top 10 fastest growing industries in the world 2021
- Top 10 most charitable person in the world 2021
- Top 10 logistic Companies in India – 2021
- Top 10 Company in the Corporate World
- Top 5 Most Fuel Efficient Car In India
- Start Small and go Big: Low-Investment Business Ideas 2021
- Top 10 Electrical Company in India 20
-
