Cirtek joins Facebook’s Telecom Infra Project

Cirtek Holdings Philippine Corp. has joined the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), a global initiative to develop technologies that will enable affordable telecommunications equipment and rapid deployment of such.

TIP is started by Facebook and a consortium of telecom operators like SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom alongside telecom suppliers, Cirtek said in a press statement on Tuesday.

The local group is participating in the project through Cirtek ATS, its wireless solutions arm. Its involvement in this project commenced with Cirtek’s participation in a two-day summit of all members at Facebook headquarters in California last Nov. 1 and 2, the company said.

“Cirtek ATS aims to be an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and distributor of the OpenCellular box, an open-source GSM mobile wireless access platform and network-in-a-box that will reduce the deployment and operation cost of cellular mobile networks,” the company said.

“This will enable many operators to afford their operation in unserved and underserved areas, greatly expanding the coverage of mobile systems worldwide,” it added.

Once the manufacturing package has been assessed by Cirtek ATS, Cirtek aims to produce
OpenCellular trial boxes for field trials in the Philippines, and to evaluate the technology for eventual deployment and operation by telecom operators in the Philippines and potentially in the region.

“The OpenCellular project is an opportunity for Cirtek ATS to leverage its technical manufacturing and supply chain expertise in improving access to billions of people still unserved and to bridge the gap posed by the digital divide,” it added.