Google’s Project Loon
The
government has asked Google for a fresh proposal for testing its balloon-based
Internet technology for the Loon Project in India because of interference
issues in the frequency band.
Background:
Google
India had approached the Department of Electronics and Information Technology
to conduct a pilot test of the Project Loon in India. The matter was discussed
with all stakeholders and it was concluded that frequency band 700-900 MHz, to
be used in the pilot test of Project Loon, is being used at present by cellular
operators and if the pilot is carried out it will lead to interference with
cellular transmissions.
About Project Loon:
·
Project Loon is a
research and development project being developed by Google X with the mission
of providing Internet access to rural and remote areas.
·
The project uses
high-altitude balloons placed in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 32 km
to create an aerial wireless network with up to 3G-like speeds. It has already
tested this technology in New Zealand, California (in the US), and Brazil.
How it operates?
·
The balloons are
maneuvered by adjusting their altitude to float to a wind layer after
identifying the wind layer with the desired speed and direction using wind data
from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
·
Users of the
service connect to the balloon network using a special Internet antenna
attached to their building.
·
The signal
travels through the balloon network from balloon to balloon, then to a ground-based
station connected to an Internet service provider (ISP), then onto the global
Internet.
Why stratosphere was chosen?
·
Google asserts
that the stratosphere is advantageous because of its relatively low wind speeds
and minimal turbulence. Google also claims that it can model, with reasonable
accuracy, the seasonal, longitudinal, and latitudinal variations in wind speeds
within the 18–25 km stratospheric layer.
Significance of this project:
·
The technology
designed in the project could allow countries to avoid using expensive fiber
cable that would have to be installed underground to allow users to connect to
the Internet.
·
This will also
greatly increase Internet usage in developing countries in regions such as
Africa and Southeast Asia that can’t afford to lay underground fiber cable.
·
The project also
brings Internet access to remote and rural areas poorly served by existing
provisions, and improves communication during natural disasters to affected
regions.
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