I once wrote a parable to make sense of the positions the various players were taking on Internet developments. After the dust settled, I expected them to work together to make money, rather than run behind the ITU or national governments asking for favors. Facebook has been explaining what it wants to do to make the Internet experience better for all users.
Subramanian outlined a couple of its many bold network initiatives it is working on to bring access to the estimated 4.2 billion people who aren’t connected. These include Aquila, its high-altitude solar-power aircraft that beams signals down to remote areas. It is expected to have a range of 20km and stay in the air for months at a time.
Another is its proof-of-concept Aries project, which is a base station with 96 antennas. A population density study across 20 countries found that 90 per cent of people live within 40km of major cities. “Aries can be used to extend coverage from city centres to remote communities without having to provide costly backhaul.”
But the company isn’t just looking at improving access in rural and remote areas. Urban areas, he said, are experiencing a different problem, with backhaul capacity unable to keep up with demand. Its Terragraph solution aims to address this issue with distributed nodes deployed at street level, bringing Ethernet access to buildings.
2 Comments
Nanda Wanninayaka
I was invited to Facebook’s Internet.org initiative last year in Colombo and they wanted to provide limited internet access to the public. But it never became a reality. When I contacted FB Asia team, what they told me was that TRCSL did not give them the permission to the project. If that is the case, how can we expect FB to provide Internet free for the masses?
Aung
I was also involved in a similar project (not Facebook) trying to delivery public internet in Myanmar. Government was also the limiting factor in our case. I believe partly out of inexperience on how to control such projects, but also because they did not want people clogging the unlicensed channels.
LIRNEasia CEO at UNESCO World Press Freedom Day Signature Event in Brussels, Belgium
Each year, UNESCO celebrates World Press Freedom Day globally. The main/signature event is held in a different region or country each year.
FutureWORKS Asia launches second Call for Proposals: Seeking solution-oriented research for a sustainable and inclusive future of work
LIRNEasia, with the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is pleased to announce the second Call for Proposals under the FutureWORKS Asia initiative. We are inviting proposals for gender-responsive, solution-oriented, and policy-relevant applied research projects that will help shape a sustainable and inclusive future of work in Asia.
Starlink in Sri Lanka: Legal and Regulatory Perspectives from LIRNEasia’s Chair Prof. Rohan Samarajiva
Sri Lanka is preparing to roll out Starlink, an innovative satellite-based telecommunications service provider. In an article published in Views Bangladesh on June 2, 2025, LIRNEasia Chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva examined the legal and regulatory dimensions of Starlink’s entry into Sri Lanka.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
12, Balcombe Place, Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2025 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific