Balloons are in when it comes to innovative internet connectivity. We’ve written before about Facebook’s unmanned plane, which will beam connectivity to remote locations via radio signals. Lacking wheels, it needs to be towed aloft by helium balloons.
Google’s Loon, which was tested in New Zealand and now is headed to Sri Lanka, also aims to bring internet to remote areas. The Sri Lankan government agreed to put Loon hitspots in place with the goal of a launch in March, bringing high-speed internet to the entire country.
Some pundits say that this isn’t the right way to connect the world. Facebook’s Internet.org, a separate program from the Aquila drone, would offer limited internet without access to the wider web, which some say is too branded and not enough to bring the full benefits of the web.
Loon vs Aquila = Google vs Facebook. Who will win the global internet solution ? Everyone, we hope !
Facebook has revealed its first full-scale drone, which it plans to use to provide internet access in remote parts of the world. Code-named “Aquila”, the solar-powered drone will be able to fly without landing for three months at a time, using a laser to beam data to a base station on the ground. Jay Parikh, Facebook’s vice-president of engineering, said: “Our mission is to connect everybody in the world …
Sri Lanka signs up to receive internet by balloon from Google’s Project Loon
Sri Lanka has become the first country to sign up to Google’s Project Loon which will use high-altitude balloons to bring the internet to remote areas. The Times reports that Project Loon head Michael Cassidy travelled to Sri Lanka this week to finalise the agreement with Ranil Wickremesinghe, the prime minister, and that the balloons are expected to be launched by March …
How Google plans to use 13 balloons to bring Internet access to every person in Sri Lanka.
Back in the day, we all had to access the Internet through our telephone landlines. GIF from America Online. Here’s a look at the earlier phases of the project that used remote-controlled balloons (like weather balloons, not the birthday kind) in place of traditional landlines or satellites to …
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
