Google’s Project Loon Hopes to Provide Internet Access to Billions
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KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Google is hoping to connect the entire world to the Internet through the use of giant helium balloons carrying internet antennas into the stratosphere.
According to the Washington Post, Google is expected to announce on Saturday that there are 30 balloons floating over New Zealand, providing free Internet access to poor, rural or disaster-stricken areas. The plan, called Project Loon, is Google’s effort to provide Internet connections to the five billion people in remote areas.
The balloons will carry antennas, radios, solar panels and navigation equipment, says the Washington Post. The balloons do not contain motors, so their travels will rely largely on wind currents.
The Washington Post says that anyone within a 24-mile radius of the balloons would have access to the wireless network.
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