Meta disconnects the Connectivity division, home of satellite and drone Internet experiences

Meta has quietly reabsorbed resources from its Connectivity division, the company confirmed. For nearly 10 years, it was home to the old Facebook's experimental Internet and telecommunications efforts, from (blown up) satellites to (broken) drones to (disputed) apps and other more traditional infrastructures (appreciated and in progress).

As first reported by Light Reading, Meta Connectivity's staff and projects, or what's left of them after the impending cuts, will be split between its Infrastructure and Core Products divisions. Exactly which resources and who will stay is undoubtedly a matter of discussion even now, but the complete reduction in connectivity suggests that the more remote approaches to internet delivery are likely gone for good. /p>

The beginning of this divide can probably be attributed to attempts a decade ago to subsidize Internet connections in developing countries and regions. The Internet.org and Free Basics efforts would essentially provide Facebook and some bundled services for free to places where connectivity was expensive.

It caused a lot of controversy at the time, from people furious that one American company thought it should step in to solve another's problems, to the idea that the same company would essentially control the access and content in violation of net neutrality policies. , to others who saw in this ostensibly charitable venture that Facebook was buying global market share.

In 2015, the company revealed plans for a completely unexpected high-altitude drone named Aquila, which would use lasers to connect people below. This ambitious effort had a rocky few years, experiencing a hard landing in 2016 and ultimately being wiped out for good in 2018.

In the meantime, they were going even further than that with a first attempt at a satellite connectivity system in low Earth orbit, which was scheduled to launch in September 2016. Unfortunately…

Facebook hasn't given up, but it's worth noting that its next satellite internet venture, a subsidiary called PointView Tech, filed experimental FCC licensing documents in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021. .but not this year. I contacted to check in, but got no response.

But not everything the Connectivity Division has done has flown by air. As they had probably told them every time they talked about drones and lasers, what is really needed is a fiber optic link and a solid traditional wireless infrastructure so that neglected areas can connect like everyone else does.

To this end, Meta has worked with the Telecom Infra project to create new software, hardware and standards that make telecommunications networks more accessible and maintainable. Legacy industry dominates this space, so new entrants have a potentially significant opportunity to bring change. Meta and Google, for example, have invested in undersea cables and fiber that serve both their own needs and public transport.

That said, now that Connectivity is disbanded, it's impossible to say what efforts will continue to be continued, funded, etc. We'll keep an eye out for the end of the layoffs and consolidation and see what's left.