Google Migrates Project Loon to Indonesia
Project Loon, part of Google's parent company, Alphabet, on Wednesday announced that it has signed agreements with three mobile network operators in Indonesia -- Indosat, Telkomse, and XL Axiata -- to begin tests of its balloon-powered Internet service in 2016.
Only about one in three of Indonesia's 250 million residents is connected to the Internet. Project Loon will transmit signals from areas connected to an Internet ground station across several balloons in the stratosphere and back down to areas without access.
The project so far has wirelessly transferred data between balloons more than 100 km apart. Its long-range plan is to provide a continuous ring of connectivity around the globe in partnership with mobile network operators.Each balloon supports a gondola carrying solar-powered electronics. It establishes a radio link from a telecom network on the ground and beams down LTE Internet access to areas without coverage.
More than 17,500 islands make up the Indonesian archipelago; about half, or 8,800, are named, and 922 of those named are permanently inhabited.
Loon has the potential to help telcos bring Internet connectivity to tens of millions of unconnected people in Indonesia, because it can deliver broad coverage without the difficulties created by mountains, water and jungles.
Comments
Post a Comment