Introducing Facebook’s new terrestrial connectivity systems — Terragraph and Project ARIES

This post introduces two new terrestrial connectivity systems: Terragraph, a 60 GHz multi-node wireless system for dense urban areas leveraging WiGig standards and optimized for low-cost production, and Project ARIES, a proof-of-concept Massive MIMO test platform with 96 antennas demonstrating high spectral and energy efficiency for rural connectivity. Terragraph utilizes IPv6-only nodes, an SDN-like cloud compute controller, and a re-architected TDMA-TDD MAC layer for improved efficiency. Project ARIES focuses on spatial multiplexing to serve multiple streams over the same spectrum, aiming for over 100 bps/Hz spectral efficiency. Both systems are being tested and prepared for broader trials and open contribution to the ecosystem.