Google revealed top-secret plans Saturday to send balloons to the edge
of space with the lofty aim of bringing Internet to the two-thirds of
the global population currently without web access.
Scientists from the technology giant released up to 30 helium-filled
test balloons flying 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) above Christchurch in
New Zealand, carrying antennae linked to ground base stations.
While still in the early stages, “Project Loon” hopes eventually to
launch thousands of balloons to provide Internet to remote parts of the
world, allowing more than four billion people with no access to get
online.
“Project Loon is an experimental technology for balloon-powered Internet access,” Google said in a statement.
“Balloons, carried by the wind at altitudes twice as high as
commercial planes, can beam Internet access to the ground at speeds
similar to today’s 3G networks or faster.
“It is very early days, but we think a ring of balloons, flying
around the globe on the stratospheric winds, might be a way to provide
affordable Internet access to rural, remote, and undeserved areas down
on earth below, or help after disasters, when existing communication
infrastructure is affected.”
It works by ground stations connecting to the local Internet
infrastructure and beaming signals to the balloons, which are
self-powered by solar panels.
The balloons are then able to communicate with each other, forming a mesh network in the sky.
Users below have Internet antennae they attach the side of their
house which can send and receive data signals from the balloons passing
overhead.
Some 50 people were chosen to take part in Saturday’s trial and were able to link to the Internet.
The company’s ultimate goal is to have a ring of balloons circling
the Earth, ensuring there is no part of the globe that can’t access the
web.
“The idea may sound a bit crazy — and that’s part of the reason we’re
calling it Project Loon — but there’s solid science behind it,” Google
said.
But the company added: “This is still highly experimental technology and we have a long way to go.”
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