Meta has shut down its Connectivity Lab without announcing it officially, TechCrunch reported citing company officials.

Connectivity lab staff and projects will be split between its Infrastructure and K Central Products divisions. Layoffs are also imminent, though the company has not yet clarified the issue.

According to experts in the field, the decision to close this lab indicates that the company no longer intends to develop out-of-the-box technology.

What did Connectivity do?

For nearly a decade now, Connectivity has been developing traditional and exotic communications technologies, including Internet delivery technologies via satellites and drones.

Connectivity was formed when the idea of subsidizing Internet connectivity in developing countries and regions emerged. The Internet.org and Free Basics initiatives made Facebook available where Internet connections were expensive.

These projects had many opponents. Some were outraged that an American company thought it had the right to interfere in other countries' affairs, while others said that under the guise of charity, an industry player was trying to control Internet access and content, violating the principles of net neutrality.

The company offered to launch drones to provide Internet access, but three years later the idea was abandoned and the project was shut down. The company also abandoned the idea of providing Internet access via low-orbit satellites. PointView Tech, a subsidiary of the social network, received pilot licenses from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission from 2018 to 2021, but no longer pursued applications this year.

Meta has also been working on traditional communications technologies, trying to improve them; it was the Telecom Infra Project, which developed new standards, software and hardware for existing infrastructure. In addition, both Meta and Google continue to invest in the production of submarine cables, both for their own projects and for public use.

Things aren't looking so good in the Meta

Things are not going so well at Meta. On November 15 this year, it became known that the company cancelled a project to develop a smartwatch, which was supposed to have many health monitoring functions and could compete with the popular Apple Watch. Company executives clarified that the project was being shut down as part of a cost-cutting drive.

Last month, the company cut 11,000 jobs for the same reason. Moreover, the company announced that it will stop hiring new employees by 2023. In addition to cutting employees, the company is also trying to save money on space and infrastructure leases.

Experts say the company is taking such steps because it has faced serious problems in recent months. And one of the main problems is the Мeta's metaverse project – Horizon Worlds – that does not meet expectations and does not attract new users. In addition, the corporation is spending a lot of money on it. Since 2019, $36 billion has already been invested in research and development of the meta-universe. According to some experts, if the situation does not change, Meta will soon lose its leading position and turn into an ordinary IT company.