San Jose to become first city to test Facebook's new Wi-Fi service

Facebook is unveiling new technology to boost Wi-Fi, and San Jose is the first to try it out.

"We think we have found a more efficient way to provide more wireless capacity in dense urban areas by using Wi-Fi," Facebook spokesman Derick Mains said. It's called "Terragraph" and it's only been tested on Facebook's campus. Facebook officials expect to launch a "trial" in downtown San Jose later in 2016. It's unclear when the testing begins or how long it will last. Mains said the technology is easier to install and less expensive than trenching streets to set up fiber Internet services, such as Google Fiber. Facebook will install metal boxes, about the size of a shoe box, on light poles throughout downtown. Then they'll feed existing high-speed fiber optic cables into the boxes, which transmit data signals wirelessly from box to box. Facebook will tap into the city's current Wi-Fi network, but the boxes strengthen the signal and allow it to move around traffic, crowds and tall buildings.