Google revealed
top-secret plans on 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.
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand: Google revealed top-secret
plans on 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 kilometres (12.4 miles) above
Christchurch in New Zealand on Saturday, 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 the more than four billion people with no access to get
online.
It could also be used to help after natural disasters,
when existing communication infrastructure is affected.
"Project Loon is an experimental technology for
balloon-powered Internet access," the company said on its latest project
from its clandestine Google (x), "where we work on radical, sci-fi-sounding
technology solutions to solve really big world problems".
"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 added.
"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 underserved 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, which once in the stratosphere will be
twice as high as commercial airliners and barely visible to the naked eye, are
then able to communicate with each other, forming a mesh network in the sky.
Users below have an 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 the trial
and were able to link to the Internet.
The first person to get Google Balloon Internet access
was Charles Nimmo, a farmer and entrepreneur in the small town of Leeston who
signed up for the experiment.
He told the New Zealand Herald he received Internet
access for about 15 minutes before the transmitting balloon he was relying on
floated out of range.
"It's been weird," he told the newspaper.
"But it's been exciting to be part of something new."
Google's ultimate goal is to have a ring of balloons
-- each the length of a small light aircraft when fully inflated -- circling
the Earth, ensuring there is no part of the globe that cannot access the web.
It did not say how much it was investing in the
project.
"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 added: "This is still highly
experimental technology and we have a long way to go."
Project leader Mike Cassidy told reporters that if
successful, the technology might allow countries to leapfrog the expense of
installing fibre-optic cable.
"It's a huge moonshot, a really big goal to go
after," he said.
"The power of the Internet is probably one of the
most transformative technologies of our time."
Google said that over time it wanted to set up other
pilot projects in countries at the same latitude as New Zealand, including
Australia and Argentina, due to the stratospheric conditions.
- AFP/al
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