Facebook is a big company that has big Internet ambitions. And to show that they are committed to their drive to make an impact on the Internet, the company has hired a veteran of the Google Fiber high-speed internet project Kevin Lo. Facebook is going to increase their expertise and knowledge in the connectivity by hiring the co-founder of the Google Project.
Kevin Lo, who was responsible for the creation of the Google Project for Fiber high-speed internet, will join the social media network as the director of the infrastructure of connectivity and the investments.
The news was confirmed by various news outlets, and Lo also wrote in his Facebook account to confirm the news. He will be put in the leadership of the Facebook’s outside partnerships. One of the partnerships includes Terragraph, which is an ambitious project by Facebook aimed at bringing Wifi to the dense urban areas. He will also be in charge of Facebook’s partnership with Microsoft to create an optic cable.
However, the company noted that Lo would not be in charge of the app Free Basics. The app is regarded to be highly controversial by many people and experts in the tech industry. It serves to provide free Internet to developing countries for a select fee number of apps which will be determined by deals which Facebook strikes with telecom operators in the different countries.
The move to hire Lo does not mean Facebook will start being an Internet provider just as Google has started doing in a select number of cities at speeds of one gigabyte per second.
Kevin Lo joined Google back in 2010 and was responsible for the creation of the Google Fiber Project and was also tasked with managing the business and its product, as per his LinkedIn profile. He left Google in August 2015, just before they reorganized themselves and got a new name.
This is the second high-profile employee acquisition from Google by Facebook, as just two months ago they hired Regina Dugan from Google. Dugan ran Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) division. Before that role, she had been in charge of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). At Facebook, she is the head of the Building 8, which is known to be the company’s research and development division. It is focused on giving a better connection to the world.
Kevin Lo will be working under Jason Taylor at Facebook. Taylor is the Vice President for Infrastructure at Facebook.
