Connecting the World from the Sky

A FACEBOOK’S CONNECTIVITY PROJECT

Seminar By

R. Teja12103122484/4 B. Tech, B2

About the Project What is this project about Why is this project Different technologies used

Overview 70-80 % under 2G or 3G Remaining 10-20 % doesn’t have any access to Internet Different types of strategies should be followed for different type of densities

Strategies Dense Urban areas Radio Mast or Wi-Fi

Medium density areas Drones or Planes

Low density areas Leo or Geo Satellites

Challenges created by Optics If we go to higher altitudes Connectivity increases linearly Signal strength decreases

exponentially

x1 higher altitude = x1 wider x1 weaker

x4 higher altitude = x4 wider x16 weaker

Free Space Optics (FSO) FSO uses lasers to transmit data through space Increases speed and bandwidth Can give speeds equal to optical fibers and consume less power to produce than microwaves Needs high accuracy and can be distracted by bad whether

Facebook testing FSO in Facebook Connectivity Lab

Drones Drones at high altitudes like 65,000 feet are ideal At this height it won’t be a problem in airspace and atmosphere is quite stable here Capable of covering a small sized town or city Can work properly for a year Unlike Google’s Project Loon where it uses Balloons these can be tracked and repaired after using Facebook’s “Aquila” solar-powered Drone

Satellites Drones are politically impractical in some areas Here satellites can be used Relatively cheaper to beam Laser on to a entire continent Easier to provide Internet Two types: Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) Facebook’s Satellite artistic view covering Africa

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites LEO Satellites stay at altitudes of 160 – 2,000 KMs Simplest and easiest orbit to reach Cheaper and Easier to launch a satellite and maintain it But only small area is covered like less than 100 people per sq. km This orbit doesn’t move w.r.t Earth’s atmosphere So entire fleet of satellites are necessary to provide reliable connection

Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) Satellites GEO Satellites stay at altitudes of 65,786 KMs Earth’s atmosphere is stable here A satellite at this orbit can point to a place on Earth indefinitely Can cover an entire continent But signal strength weeks exponentially If combined with “Free Space Optics (FSO)” strength will increase FSOs can not be implemented on LEO satellites due to their irregular movements

Advantages Connectivity increases around the world Cheaper Internet is possible Speed increases Security is increased Competition between Google’s “Project Loon” and Facebook’s “Drones and Satellites” will bring out efficient, cheaper and easier ways to connect world

Disadvantages This project is associated with “Internet.org” also known as “Free Basics” India court recently banned “Free Basics” programs as it violates “Net Neutrality”

Conclusion Facebook already hired many leading experts from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other space research organizations They are researching on drones, satellites, free space optics and other related work In future, we may see world which is “connected from the sky” Experimental results shows that these Drones and Satellites can be used for practical purpose and can replace traditional optical fiber and other methods

Thank You

Facebook’s “AMOS-6” Satellite to connect Africa