Google’s Project Loon heads into carrier testing this year

PanARMENIAN.Net - Google’s “moonshot” to deliver Internet to remote parts of the world using high-flying balloons has survived a brutal development phase, and will enter testing with carriers in Indonesia and elsewhere this year, Re/code reports.

Google struggled to find a balloon design that could be inexpensive and durable enough to not only float but navigate to predictably travel through the stratosphere.

“We busted a lot of balloons,” said Astro Teller, head of Alphabet’s X unit (formerly Google X), showing off some of the designs to the crowd at the annual TED conference, which kicked off Monday in Vancouver.

There were shiny balloons and round balloons and balloons that looked like giant pillows. But eventually the company found a design that could be made cheaply and still navigate precisely. That balloon, Teller said, last year travelled around the world 19 times over 187 days last year.

“So we are going to keep going,” Teller said, noting that what was once a slow connection has advanced enough to deliver about 15 megabit-per-second Internet access, which he pointed out is enough to deliver video — such as a live broadcast of his TED talk, according to Re/code.

The next step will be seeing how it works delivering real Internet service to consumers. In addition to Indonesia, Alphabet has reached a deal with the Sri Lankan government to exchange access to needed radio frequency spectrum for a stake in the project. Alphabet is in talks with carriers around the world, Teller said, adding that the prospect is very real that a further five billion people will have Internet access within five to 10 years.

“It will change the world in ways we cannot possibly imagine,” he said.