Google’s Project Loon explores balloon-powered Internet accessPUBLISHED: 16 Jun 2013 11:12:00 | UPDATED: 17 Jun 2013 07:46:59PRINT EDITION: 16 Jun 2013
A Google balloon sails through the air with the Southern Alps mountains in the background, in Tekapo, New Zealand. Google is testing the balloons which sail in the stratosphere and beam the Internet to Earth Photo: AP
Google has launched a small network of balloons over the Southern Hemisphere in an experiment it hopes could bring reliable internet access to the world’s most remote regions, the company said late on Friday.
The pilot program, Project Loon, took off this month from New Zealand’s South Island, using solar-powered, high-altitude balloons that rode the wind about 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) – twice as high as planes – above the ground, Google said.
Like the internet search engine for which Google was best known, Project Loon used algorithms to determine where the balloons needed to go, then moved them into winds blowing in the desired direction, the company said.
By moving with the wind, the balloons formed a network of airborne hot spots that could deliver internet access over a broad area at speeds comparable to 3G using open radio frequency bands, Google said.
Special internet antenna
To connect to the balloon network, a special internet antenna is attached to buildings below. The Mountain View, California-based company announced the project on its official blog and its website.
The 30 balloons deployed in New Zealand this month would beam the internet to a small group of pilot testers and be used to refine the technology and shape the next phase of Project Loon, Google said.
Google did not say what it was spending on the pilot project or how much a global network of balloons might cost.
Google has also developed self-driving vehicles, which the company says could significantly increase driving safety. Those vehicles are beginning to gain support from lawmakers in places like California, where a bill legalising their operation on state roads has been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown.