The web worldwide
Facebook enters race to bring the internet to all four corners of the Earth
Mark Zuckerberg is once more going head to head against his fellow technology tycoon and rival Elon Musk in a new space race to bring the internet to some of the most far-flung corners of the world.
Newly uncovered documents have revealed Facebook plans to launch an internet satellite into low-earth orbit by early next year. The project, named Athena, is designed to “efficiently provide broadband access to unserved and underserved areas throughout the world”. It is tipped to stream data 10 times faster than Elon Musk’s push to develop an alternative system.
In a statement to Wired magazine, Facebook confirmed the project’s existence. “While we have nothing to share about specific projects at this time, we believe satellite technology will be an important enabler of the next generation of broadband infrastructure, making it possible to bring broadband connectivity to rural regions where internet connectivity is lacking or non-existent,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
Facebook is still some way behind Spacex in its plans to build satellitebased internet connections to remote corners of the world. Elon Musk’s firm has already launched the first of its 12,000 “Starlink” satellites designed to provide low-cost internet service from Earth’s orbit and provide an alternative to fibre-optic cables.
The billionaires aren’t proposing anything drastically new. Satellite internet has been available for some time, although it is unreliable and provides dramatically slower connections compared with fibreoptic cables. Musk, however, claims his Starlink project is different because it will provide highspeed, cable-like internet all over the world using a network of satellites rather than a single geostationary system.
Musk has previously said that Starlink could give three billion people who currently do not have access to the internet – especially in parts of Africa, Asia and South America – a cheaper way of getting online. Zuckerberg, meanwhile, has revealed very few details about his project.
The Facebook founder hasn’t had much success with similar projects in the past. In 2017, his $95m (£72m) internet.org satellite erupted into flames when the Spacex rocket due to carry it into orbit exploded on the launch pad.
The billionaire also recently shut down his in-house internet drone project, Aquila, which is based in Bridgwater, Somerset. At the time, Facebook said it was not financially viable to compete with aerospace giants developing rival technology.
To avoid another loss, Zuckerberg now hopes to send up the small, low-earth orbit satellite system that won’t hit the tech company’s bottom line, should something go amiss. Musk has committed to building every single major component of his satellite system in-house. It will then be launched on one of his Spacex proprietary rockets. Zuckerberg, however, is paying someone else to do it for him. France’s aerospace giant Arianespace will send the initial Facebook satellite to low-earth orbit next year. It will remain there for two years above the western US to determine whether it can successfully deliver what the company is aiming for. In 2021, it will be shut off and “de-orbited”, later to join the tens of thousands of pieces of debris floating aimlessly through space.
But there’s another player to consider. Richard Branson’s Virgin also entered the space race after landing a deal to launch communication satellites with Oneweb in 2015. Oneweb, the Us-based company hoping to bring the internet to those without, backed by Virgin Group, Coca-cola, Qualcomm, Airbus and Softbank. Shipments were expected to begin in mid 2018, although the company has been very quiet.
Google also appears to be making strides in the area with its so-called Project Loon. While not technically a satellite venture, Loon has already delivered an internet balloon in Kenya. The project has been such a hit that Google said it plans to develop it as a standalone business.
Google has been working on Loon for seven years under its secretive X research division. Now it will be more financially accountable than when it was in development. A patent filing suggests that Google is also planning an ambitious satellite constellation too, to cover 75pc of the Earth.
With the biggest and boldest tech players in the mix, it is just a matter of time before the web truly goes worldwide.