Google’s Project Loon, a project to offer internet connectivity through balloons flying several miles above the earth’s surface, is maturing into a vibrant project which might be launched at a larger scale for providing remote areas with internet access as early as next year.
Recently, Google chose Campo Maior, a rural area in Brazil where people have very poor internet connectivity, to conduct its next balloon expedition.
It was said that people even climb trees trying to get mobile wireless internet signals at night and the illumination of their cell phones look like fireflies blinking when in the aerial view of the area.
Google sent a test flight to this area and its local school had direct internet connectivity from the balloon that sent out wireless internet signals to its classrooms.
Google’s Project Loon Google+ page read, “This test flight marked a few significant ‘firsts’ for Project Loon.”
“Launching near the equator taught us to overcome more dramatic temperature profiles, dripping humidity and scorpions. And we tested LTE technology for the first time; this could enable us to provide an Internet signal directly to mobile phones, opening up more options for bringing Internet access to more places.”
The project which started with the objective of getting the balloons stay up for several days has crossed several stages as the company used several strategies and technologies to learn the air currents and the temperatures of different regions.
In April this year, a balloon christened Ibis-167 finished its first lap of journey around the world in 22 days. Google announced that the other balloons are designed to stay up for at least 100 days and the company is also working on building 4G LTE connectivity capabilities into the balloons.
Head of Google X, Astro Teller has expressed hope that the project will soon pass the testing phase and start offering internet access.
“The balloons are delivering 10x more bandwidth, 10x steer-ability, and are staying up 10x as long,” said Teller.
“That’s the kind of progress that can only happen a few more times until we’re in a problematically good place.”
