Google’s latest tech innovation is to bring “balloon-powered Internet access” to remote locations around the world. Their new ‘Project Loon’ aims to beam down wireless Internet access to places around the world that are hard to reach and still doesn’t have Internet.
“2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach,” Mike Cassidy, from Project Loon stated on the official Google Blog ”We believe that it might actually be possible to build a ring of balloons, flying around the globe on the stratospheric winds, that provides Internet access to the earth below”. He has also mentioned that since this whole idea “sound a bit crazy”, they’ve decided to name it ’Project Loon’.
As Google points out, this is probably the easiest, cheapest and the most possible way to bring Internet to difficult geographical locations as well as poor third-world countries. However, Project Loon is still at the experimental stage. Google has just launched their first test program in the Canterbury area of New Zealand, with plans to spread across the country in time.
The “solid science” behind this technology is detailed in this video and you can get the latest updates on this project by following the official Project Loon Google+ page.
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Roshan Jerad Perera