TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Directory
  • Smart Studio
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • DSP Leaders
  • Great Telco Debate
    • |
    • Follow
    • |
    • Subscribe
  • |
  • More
  • Webcasts
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • Great Telco Debate
  • |
  • Follow TelecomTV
  • |
    • Subscribe
    • |
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Follow TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

News

News

The balloon network is back

Jun 17, 2013

Balloons MK I went the way of all things with the deflation of the LEO/MEO (low/medium earth orbit) satellite bubble which presumably stimulated the balloon idea in the first place - why go into space when you might just about get away with floating your transponders in the stratosphere? Why indeed?

Now, rather in the manner of someone telling a self-depricating joke before someone else tells it more cruelly, Google has come out with Project Loon... a crazy idea to extend broadband everywhere that might just work.

The idea comes from Google[x], Google's secretive laboratory, and involves launching a ring (or more) of balloons designed to float about 20 miles up (well above commercial airliners, says Google) in the stratosphere.

It's cold, it's windy, but those winds are remarkably consistent which means that by raising or lowering the balloons' altitude Google should be able to affect some rough navigation to get them into a patchwork above under-served broadband areas of the world (ie, just about all of it). The groundstations use fixed antennae (no funny cell phones).

Google appears to be talking about deploying WiFi technology (or something close to it). As well as serving as mobile cellular stations, the balloon-borne transmitters would be able to pass data between them and then down to an earth station within the geography of the served area.

The Google blog is keen to point out that the balloon network idea is still highly experimental and will presumably take years to reach fruition, if at all. A first experiment is being carried out over New Zealand's Canterbury province.

Related Topics
  • Analysis & Opinion,
  • News

More Like This

5G

What’s up with… Chris Rice, STL, NetNumber, spectrum in India

Mar 2, 2021

Digital Platforms & Services

Meet the telecom procurement influencers…

Mar 2, 2021

Digital Platforms & Services

Zoom predicts another stellar year, with VoIP as a key driver

Mar 2, 2021

Digital Platforms & Services

What’s up with… Syniverse + Twilio, Boingo, BT

Mar 1, 2021

Cellular IoT

When is 5G expected to play a big role in IoT?

Mar 1, 2021

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

18:24

How Zoom evolved in the pandemic era

26:24

Red Hat and HPE discuss how to support open multi-vendor 5G network slices

14:28

How RADCOM is helping Rakuten Mobile run its innovative 5G network

8:33

Monetizing innovative telco edge services

  • TelecomTV
  • Decisive Media

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media

Menu
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Directory
  • Smart Studio
 
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • Events
  • About Us
Our Brands
  • TelecomTV Tracker
  • TelecomTV Perspectives
  • DSP Leaders
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • The Great Telco Debate
Get In Touch
[email protected]
+44 (0) 207 448 1070

Request a Media Pack

Follow
  • © Decisive Media Limited 2021. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Legal Notices