Google is not one to stay conventional. The tech company has expanded and now places itself as one of the top innovators in the world. Google Glass, Android, Chrome OS and driverless cars are just a few of the projects people thought were crazy, yet are succeeding. What’s the next crazy project from Google? It is definitely Project Loon, and it will blow our minds.
The idea is that they will create a network of balloons that float 20 kilometers above the ground. This network will bring internet to the world. We may believe everyone has access to the internet, but this is not the case. In fact, Google states 2 out of 3 people in the world don’t have internet. We are actually a small minority.
These balloons will fly around the globe and communicate with each other, bringing internet to the most remote places on earth. Google has set up a test network and launched 30 balloons this week alone. 50 lucky testers in the Canterbury area of New Zealand are now enjoying a good connection to the world.
Like you, we are wondering just how reliable this technology can be. We can’t say they will match your high-speed connections, but Google promises speeds equal or higher to 3G speeds (let’s hope they are not talking Sprint 3G!). If we are talking about a good 3G connection, then it can’t be that bad. Especially considering it would be in places where internet wasn’t available at all.
Check out the announcement and the video below, which covers details on the technology behind Project Loon. Hey, maybe one day all our Chromebooks can be connected to these balloons! No need to worry about having WiFi around – what a sweet thought.
[Google]
