In 2013, Google announced Project Loon, a project that launches balloons into the stratosphere to provide continuous data service to people living below the balloons path. Google tested the technology in New Zealand, and this year, the company has plans to launch 300 internet-providing balloons, which is enough to create a string of coverage around the world. The first testing of the balloons will be done by three of Indonesia’s mobile networks.
The balloons are super light, and come equipped with a flight computer and GPS tracker, solar panels, two radio transceivers to send and receive data streams and an altitude control system. The balloons can last as long as 187 days before needing to be replaced.
According to a report in the BBC, the balloons used to take 14 people an hour or two to launch one of the balloons, but now Google has that process down to two people, a crane and 15 minutes.
The benefits of balloon-delivered internet are obvious; companies wouldn’t need the wired infrastructure of a broadband network anymore.