Skip to main content

Google's parent company is flying balloons with 'floating cell phone towers' across the ocean to bring internet to Kenya's Rift Valley

* Loon just launched balloon-powered internet in Kenya, in partnership with Telkom Kenya. * Loon is part of Alphabet, Google's parent company. * The high-altitude balloons act as "floating cell phone towers." * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Project Loon started as one of Alphabet's moonshot projects, and now its providing internet service in Kenya.  The company makes solar powered balloons that fly high up in the stratosphere and send internet access down to earth. These mobile, floating stations are more flexible than typical cell stations, as they're constantly moving. They also have much wider coverage areas; as much as a hundred times that of a cell tower. Right now, Loon stations are mostly used after disasters take out existing infrastructure, or in places where cell towers and connections are otherwise difficult, but Loon has much bigger plans. CEO Alastair Westgarth said " Loon is well positioned to play this role and serve as the operating system for the global connectivity ecosystem of the future." He hopes to create a global third layer of connectivity, on top of cell towers on earth and satellites in space. Here's how the balloons work.  SEE ALSO: A Norwegian designer created a $13,500 tiny home office with tinted glass to be a perfect backyard workspace — see inside the Studypod Loon's balloons are launched from stations in California and Puerto Rico. Launches that were once done by hand are now done by two 90-foot-tall automated machines. They can launch a balloon up to 60,000 feet high every 30 minutes. Helium and pressure are used to steer the balloons, directed by machine learning algorithms. The balloons are specifically to bring internet connectivity to a 50,000 square kilometer region of Kenya filled with mountains and sometimes inaccessible terrain that makes traditional connectivity methods difficult. Loon worked on this project with local company Telkon Kenya, the third largest ISP in Kenya. Source: Reuters Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth said that the need for internet connections is even more pressing with the coronavirus, as people are unable to go to school, work, or sometimes even a doctor. To provide coverage for this area, Loon is using at least 35 balloons that will be constantly moving above the stratosphere in eastern Africa. Loon will continue adding balloons to reach 35, and internet service should become more consistent as a result. So far, the team has found the connection works even for video calls and YouTube. Since it began testing this project, Loon says it has already connected 35,000 users. The balloons work as "floating cell towers." At any point, a particular balloon might be providing an internet connection, acting as a feeder in the mesh network to support other balloons, or repositioning itself. . Each has a solar panel and battery. According to Loon, the advantage of these floating internet connections is that they're flexible and need much less lead time than a cell tower or other permanent infrastructure. The stations can also be used quickly in emergencies that take out infrastructure, like after an earthquake in Peru last year. Source: Loon
https://bit.ly/3jkdBjx

Popular posts from this blog

SpaceX has a 'go' from NASA to return 2 astronauts to Earth on Sunday as Hurricane Isaias threatens several Florida splashdown locations

* NASA on Saturday gave SpaceX a "go" to undock the company's first crewed space mission, called Demo-2, and land it on Sunday evening. * Hurricane Isaias complicated original plans to return two astronauts to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship in the Atlantic Ocean. * Elon Musk's aerospace company may now try to splash down NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in the Gulf of Mexico. * Two out of seven total landing sites near Florida must have good weather conditions, and NASA has until about 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to call off the undocking. * Should the weather worsen, NASA and SpaceX can try again a day later or some other date over the next two months. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have a "go" to return to Earth this weekend and wrap up an historic space mission for both NASA and SpaceX.  Behnken and Hurley launched to orbit aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehic...
Read more

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck London fintech Lanistar used to raise $19 million at a $190 million valuation

* London-based fintech startup Lanistar has raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Milaya Capital.  * Founded in 2019, Lanistar is building a personal financial management platform that will launch later in 2020.  * "We're expecting a huge amount of growth upon our launch and have already seen strong interest among our sign ups," Gurhan Kiziloz, founder and CEO of Lanistar, told Business Insider. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.  The coronavirus lockdown in the UK has brought the importance of managing money into sharp relief. A recent study from Money.com shows that 71% of UK households have saved cash during lockdown, and, with uncertainty about jobs and the economy looming, money management is now front of mind for many. Lanistar, a banking platform with a focus on personal finance, is one company offering tools for consumers to better manage their money. It has just raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Mil...
Read more

How to send your location on Snapchat to your friends through the app's Snap Map feature

* You can send your location on Snapchat to a single friend or to several users in a group.   * To send a location on Snapchat, you'll need to visit your friendship history with a user and locate the "Send My Location" feature.  * Once you send a location on Snapchat to a friend, they can tap it and zoom in to see where you are.  * Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Whether you want to share the location of your favorite restaurant or the address of your new apartment, you can easily send your location on Snapchat to your friends.  You can do this using the Snap Map and will even be prompted to select who you want to share you location with the first time you use the app feature. You can choose to share your location with your mutual friends, a list of friends with exceptions, or a small group of selected friends.  To send your location directly to a mutual Snapchat friend, you must visit your chat history through your friends li...
Read more