BT Join the Telecom Infra Project and Facebook to Build Future Telecoms Tech

BT has today announced a new partnership with Facebook and in relation to that they’ve also joined the global Telecom Infra Project (TIP), which is aimed at helping the operator to develop a future generation of telecoms, broadband infrastructure and digital services.

Some of TIP’s existing members (over 450 of them) are already working to develop things like advanced base station hardware and software for future 4G / 5G networks (e.g. OpenCellular), white-box transponder and routing solutions (Open Optical Packet Transport) and an Open Source API Management layer to help expose operator network capabilities to application developers etc.

Meanwhile BT intends to work together with Facebook and TIP at both their UK research HQ (BT Labs at Adastral Park) and in London’s Tech City. Apparently “selected telecoms infrastructure startups” will be invited to engage directly with experts from all three organisations at these “acceleration centres“, where we’re told they’ll also receive support to help build and market their new services.

BT, Facebook and TIP also said they’ll work to “tackle shared challenges such as how to connect remote communities, how to enhance people’s lives through innovation in communications technology, and how to better manage the unprecedented growth of network traffic.” However the initial focus will be in the areas of Quantum Computing (applied to networks) and there’s also a vague reference to “mission-critical communications.”

Howard Watson, BT’s CEO of Technology and Operations, said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity to combine BT’s brightest minds with up-and-coming entrepreneurs and Facebook’s global presence. The TIP initiative is open innovation at its finest: pushing the boundaries; transforming the traditional use of technologies; and galvanising a global network of like-minded innovators to look beyond the current mix of technologies to the longer-term future. This initiative supports our ambition to keep the UK at the very forefront of technology and telecoms innovation on a global scale and to encourage creative talent to engage with engineering and science.”

Ashish Kelkar, Board Member of TIP and Facebook Director, said:

“Facebook is looking forward to working with BT and TIP to support these new Acceleration Centers with technical and market expertise. Working together, we hope to help identify and support start-ups who bring fresh ideas to the industry.”

Separately BT and Nokia have today announced that they’re working to explore how future low latency 5G Mobile technology can be combined to enhance consumer and business Virtual Reality (VR) applications, such as via the delivery of “fully-immersive live [TV] sport or entertainment.”

Perhaps BT are envisaging that one day their customers might be able to watch BTSport with a VR headset over a 5G connection, which would make it feel like you’re actually in the stadium. Hopefully by then VR headsets will be of a better quality and won’t be quite so expensive, look silly on your head or give you eye strain.