Facebook to test internet beaming drones in 2015
29 Sep 2014
After Google's Project Loon internet beaming balloons it is now the turn of Facebook which planned to test drones which would do the same, with tests scheduled for 2015, mobiletor.com reported. According to the social network's chief Mark Zuckerberg, it would be part of the efforts of Internet.org to connect the entire population across the world to the web.
In addition to Wi-Fi drones, there would be satellites and infrared lasers too, built to provide internet to all. The effort is aimed at getting everyone online so they had access to the vast amount of information the infinite virtual spaces.
However, there were such considerations as the costs, benefits and capabilities of beaming Wi-Fi from high up in the air, which was why the Facebook-backed organisation had opted not to to go with a single solution, unlike Google and its balloons. According to commentators going with invisible laser beams using light to transmit data through space was another option.
While talking about the rationale for the use of drones, Zuckerberg pointed out that precise control over the location of these flying machines, unlike balloons, would be possible. The effort by the Facebook Connectivity Lab would be boosted by the people behind the world's longest flying solar-powered unmanned craft called Zephyr, who join the team behind the project.
Making the internet accessible to the millions of users via WiFi from the sky had been among priority projects of tech giants Google and Facebook for over a year and more now, Crazy Engineers reported.
Facebook's acquisition of Titan Aerospace, the drone manufacturing startup came as next the significant development in the direction albeit via solar-powered flying drones (See: Facebook aims at internet through UAVs; eyes solar drone maker Titan).
Taking a step further, the company has launched Internet.org, an initiative in partnership with leading tech companies. It is now known that that the company has a road map and is planning to start testing the drones by 2015.
Here is how the two approaches by the companies stack up on vital specs- Google Loon can last for 100+ days, the Titan Solara 60 has a longevity of 1800+ days.
The Google Ballons would fly at altitudes of 60-90,000 ft covering 485 sq mi, whereas Facebook's flying drones would operate at 65,000 ft with a coverage of 1018 sq mi. Finally, the data service promised by Google's Loon is 3G (>0.1 Gbps), whereas Facebook's Titan drone might would offer 1 Gbps internet for all.
That said, Google's Project Loon had a number of advantages over drones, when it came to minimum payload and having a 50 ft wide balloon fly over different nations sounded way better than 120 ft wide wingspan drone doing the same. However, according to Zuckerberg drones overpowered balloons owing to their bigger coverage area and increased longevity.
