Cirtek joins Facebook telco consortium

Cirtek ATS, the wireless solutions subsidiary of Cirtek Holdings Philippine Corporation (CHPC), has joined the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), to help develop affordable telecommunications technologies.

TIP is an initiative started by Facebook, SK Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, and others, which is a consortium of telecommunications operators, infrastructure providers, system integrators, device manufacturers, OEM, EMS, and contract manufacturers.

The group is collaborating on the development of technologies that will enable affordable telecommunications equipment and rapid deployment of such.

The participation of Cirtek ATS in the consortium commenced with Cirtek’s participation in a two-day summit of all members at Facebook headquarters in California last November 1 and 2, 2016.

Cirtek ATS aims to be an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and distributor of the OpenCellular box, an opensource GSM mobile wireless access platform and networkin-a-box that will reduce the deployment and operation cost of cellular mobile networks.

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

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 telco 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.

This project is one of the working projects of TIP with the goal to enable cost-effective, sustainable, universal access across the globe.