Google Brings its Internet by Balloon Project to Life - Newslibre

Google Brings its Internet by Balloon Project to Life

Let me begin by saying that you read that title right, Internet by balloon is a thing, but not in the way you might think.

For more than 5 years now, a branch of the conglomerate Alphabet which is Google’s parent company has been working on developing an effective and affordable method for increasing internet penetration throughout the world.

The project they have been working on is called Project Loon and is meant to provide fast and reliable internet to remote parts of the world using weather balloons.

Weather balloons are made from polyethylene and filled with helium gas, because of the helium they are able to rise into the air and hover in the stratosphere which is a part of the atmosphere about 20km above sea level.

At this height they are free from air traffic, rain, storms or flying birds. Powered by solar panels and with the guidance of the wind they are able to float about for months at a time.

For any given area, there are many balloons in a network and they have the ability to provide a WiFi signal with 4G LTE capabilities. Each balloon’s internet network can cover a 40km ground radius which for comparison is about the same distance as from Kampala to Lugazi.

Project Loon is yet to launch in Kenya and it is my prayer that they bring it to Uganda since our government’s efforts to provide free WiFi in the capital city have been in vain and this just might be the answer our problems.

Here is a short video that shows just how Project Loon operates;

 

Google Brings its Internet by Balloon Project to Life 1

Author: Daniel Odaka

Daniel is a writer and communications expert with a love for tech, science and cars. He believes tech is a lifestyle and we all live it in the way we communicate, work, move and go about our lives. To maintain a lifestyle you need to keep on top of it and that’s where he comes in. Don’t forget to check out his blog too Elite Torch

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