This is super duper exciting. Does anyone know when 100% penetration is expected? With this immigration reform can take as long as it wants in America. This should have been part of the 2009 stimulus package.
Facebook Looks to Drones to Boost Internet Access
Facebook Will Deliver Internet Via Drones With “Connectivity Lab” Project Powered By Acqhires From Ascenta
Facebook Looks to Drones to Boost Internet Access
Facebook's new Connectivity Lab is looking at the high-flying devices - not to mention satellites and lasers - to assist in providing Internet access worldwide. ..... work in the Philippines and Paraguay, where 3 million more people now have access to the Web .... Ascenta, whose five-person team worked on early versions of Zephyr, the longest-flying solar-powered unmanned aircraft. ..... Zuckerberg launched Internet.org in August, with the intent of increasing access to the Web, and bringing the Internet "to the next 5 billion people." As of now, about one-third of the world's population has online access. ..... where satellites may do the trick in lower-density areas, solar-powered drones are better suited for more high-frequency locations. ..... Located 20 kilometers above the earth, these drones, which can stay aloft for months at a time, will broadcast the Internet to local users at significantly higher speeds and better connection than a satellite would.
Facebook Will Deliver Internet Via Drones With “Connectivity Lab” Project Powered By Acqhires From Ascenta
While they both have somewhat altruistic objectives, Facebook’s Connectivity Lab could compete with Google’s Project Loon, which uses huge helium balloon vessels to beam Internet to the developing world. ..... Internet.org will use different vehicles to deliver Internet to different types of locals. In suburban areas it will use “solar-powered high altitude, long endurance aircraft” that can stay in the air for month, are easily deployed, and can provide reliable Internet connectivity. Less populated areas will be served by low-Earth orbit and geosynchronous satellites. ..... when I spoke to Mark Zuckerberg at an event at Facebook headquarters last year, he seemed earnestly adamant about the potential for Internet.org to empower the world through access to the web
