Facebook, Google, and SpaceX; Laudable Ambitions to Cover the Globe with Internet Connectivity

Author: Ogor Anumbor: 

 
Last year, three Tech companies took big steps on making plans to provide internet service, mostly to the world population that do not have access to the internet.

6 minutes read.






Facebook has unveiled their “Aquila” drone programme, to provide internet access to reach remote parts of the world without internet. Mark Zuckerberg on his post disclosed that the drone is able to fly for about 90 days and is solar-powered, using a laser to beam data to a base station on the ground.

The company plans to provide internet access using a network-link of these drones to remote or uncovered areas. It means that those areas that have access to their network coverage would be able to receive wireless internet signals on their end devices.

Facebook’s engineering director of connectivity, Yael Maguire, said that the plane will operate between 60,000 ft (18km) and 90,000 ft (27km) – above the flying altitude of commercial airplanes – so the drone would not be affected by weather. The Aquila-drone wing span’s 42m wide, compared to the Boeing 747, and said they would eventually be able to fly for years without needing to come to the surface.

Furthermore, he said the drone is able to climb to its maximum height during the day, before gliding slowly down to its lowest ebb at night, to conserve power when its solar panels are not receiving charge.
 

The drone took about 420 days to complete, and was able to fly in the air for 90 days at a time, The director said further that, though lacking wheels, or even the ability to climb from ground level to its cruising altitude without assistance, it is first launched with the aid of helium balloons, which will rise it to its preferred height before being deployed.

 

The Aquila program, which was first tested in Britain in March 2015, is geared towards bringing internet access to about 10% of the population who do not have it. Facebook plans to start testing its drones this year in the US with India and 21 other countries throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America to follow.

In a similar programme developed by Google to bring wireless internet to rural communities using high-altitude helium balloons. The programme, called “Project Loon”, involves fitting transmitters to the balloons, which will fly at similar altitudes to Facebook’s Aquila drones.

Unlike the drones, the balloons cannot be directly steered, but Google claims that, with the right physics calculation of wind speeds and directions, it is possible to direct the balloons simply by raising or lowering their flying altitude to ensure they veer in the desired direction. Loon was first tested 2013 in New Zealand.

Google balloons can sustain in the air for 75 days. One balloon, called Ibis 152, has been in air for over 100 days, while another balloon, called Ibis 162, circled the globe three times before it finally descended. The Loon team has also enhanced balloon internet speeds utilizing LTE and providing 22 MB/sec to ground antennas and 5 MB/sec to handsets.

Google bought Titan Aerospace, a drone company, with plans to offer internet access beamed down from drones that stay up in the sky for 5 years at a time. But Google may end up using the drones for mapping and imagery mainly as it's reportedly working on satellites too.

Wall Street Journal on Google satellites, revealed that the satellites will number 180 and cost about $3 billion. The plan should be to replace the balloons with the drones and then have satellites compliment that by offering broader coverage in less demanding areas as drones deliver high-capacity service in smaller areas.

SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, confirmed in a tweet last year, that his company will be sending satellites into space to create an internet offering of its own.

Wall Street Journal has reported that SpaceX will build nearly 700 tiny satellites that weigh no more than 113kg at a cost of around $1 billion.
 

Mr. Musk revealed more details of the plan saying there would be $15 billion spent on this project that will deploy hundreds of satellites over 700 miles above the earth. Musk anticipates to provide at least fibre internet speeds to everyone, and also those currently without internet access.

Conversely, in a separate story, Facebook’s Internet.org has received varying reactions from both the developed and developing world, and has been criticized by activists, even from the inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, who said they were only linking users to a walled-garden version of the internet in his interview with the Guardians. He said further that users should “just say no” to services such as the Internet.org, because it is branded internet and so it’s not internet, and retorted further that it was a step backwards.

Internet.org customers can access, for free, selected services such as Facebook, wikipedia, weather, job listings and government info. But they cannot access the open web through the same service.

Facebook, however, divulged that it will not be dealing with customers directly, instead partnering with local ISPs to offer the services.