GLOBAL INTERNET ACCESS
What if you could access the internet anywhere in the world? That’s the idea behind Project Loon, Google’s ambitious project run by its secretive X branch to create a global web. The plan is to use high-altitude balloons 20 kilometres up to transmit Wi-Fi to the ground, bringing connectivity to the remaining portions of the world that aren’t currently online.
Filled with helium, the balloons are about 15 metres across. Beneath them hangs a small box that enables the Wi-Fi signal to be transmitted to the ground. Running on solar power, the balloons can stay aloft for up to 200 days. It’s not yet clear when the service might come online, although a pending patent dispute may delay efforts somewhat. Originally planning to build hundreds, Google now says it can bring the system online with just dozens, using machine learning to direct the balloons to certain areas.