Balloon-Powered Internet for Everyone

Google X, the group we most frequently hear about through their development of the self-driving car, has been hard at work on something a bit more whimsical. 

As a "moonshot factory," Google X seeks to find seemingly crazy solutions to big problems using breakthrough technology. While this means that the company dives into a lot of challenging issues, they also get to explore some very novel ideas.

One of the most unique ideas Google X is currently working on is know as "Project Loon".

Project Loon

Project Loon is about narrowing the gap between reality and the expectation that everyone should have access to the internet. Currently two thirds of the world population has no access to internet. Much of this problem is due to the exorbitant cost of expanding internet infrastructure out to rural and remote locations. Currently, most of our infrastructure relies on copper or fiber lines to be run across land or under the ocean; this is expensive, susceptible to damage, and difficult to upgrade. Another current solution is to send out satellites; this is also expensive and comes with high speeds because of the time it takes for signals to be passed up to the satellites and back down. 

So how do we give internet to the world in a cost effective way? Google X went back to the drawing board and came up with something completely new. Balloons. By utilizing balloons we can avoid laying expensive copper/fiber connections across land/ocean and we don't need to spend large amounts of money to shoot a satellite into space. 

How It Works

Google X's balloons are inflated and sent to the stratosphere, above the realm of birds, planes, and weather. In the stratosphere, the balloon is only effected by predictable patterns of wind. Each balloon is sent into a part of the stratosphere that will help steer the balloon to areas of the planet that need internet coverage. The balloons, of course, are designed to be durable enough to withstand the lack of air pressure and exposure to the sun in the stratosphere (and with exposure to the sun, the electronics on the balloon are solar powered!).

Google X has also partnered with telecom companies to provide this internet service using the existing LTE technology that many of use on our cell phones. For those people who will be using Loon, this means that internet is available at a relatively low cost. It's as simple as purchasing a mobile phone with LTE or a LTE hotspot to get access on a device like a laptop.