Internet in the Sky

Getting online is hard in some places because most types of connections require a lot of costly infrastructure. Cable, fiber-optic, DSL, and dial-up networks rely on physical wires to connect a user to the internet provider. Cell phone networks need towers within range of the user. Telecommunications companies pay for this by charging customers to connect. But in sparsely populated areas or those with rugged terrain, there aren’t enough people to cover the costs.

Getting online is hard in some places because it requires expensive equipment. Modems need physical cables to connect a user to the internet provider. Cell phone networks need towers within range of the user. Telecommunications companies pay for this by charging customers to connect. But in areas with small populations, there aren’t enough people to cover the costs. Rugged terrain can also make it difficult to set up internet cables or cell towers.

That’s where Google Loon comes in. “It’s like a cell tower floating in the sky,” says Aakanksha Singh, a senior software engineer at Google Loon. The technology was first tested in New Zealand in 2013, and since then it has been used around the world. For the project in Kenya, Google launched the balloons from the United States. It was Singh’s job to make sure they completed the 10- to 30-day journey safely.

Singh helps program the navigation system for the balloons’ flight paths, using maps based on weather forecasts and models. Once in place, the balloons pick up signals from stations on the ground and relay them to other balloons and then to people’s devices (see “How Google Loon Works,” below). The signals from the cluster of balloons covered an estimated 19,300 square miles of western and central Kenya, including the capital, Nairobi, where more than 4 million people live.

That’s where Google Loon comes in. “It’s like a cell tower floating in the sky,” says Aakanksha Singh. She’s a software engineer at Google Loon. The technology was first tested in New Zealand in 2013. Since then it has been used around the world. For the project in Kenya, Google launched the balloons from the United States. It was Singh’s job to make sure they completed the journey safely.

Singh helps program the system that the balloons use to navigate. Information from maps and weather forecasts helps determine the flight path. Once they reach their destination, the balloons pick up internet signals from stations on the ground. They relay the signals to other balloons and then to people’s devices. The cluster of balloons in Kenya brought internet to an estimated 19,300 square miles of the country. That includes the capital, Nairobi, where more than 4 million people live.

The company plans to eventually provide internet to the entire country—and beyond. “We want to boost the internet in all of the world,” Singh says. “Our primary focus is on getting these unconnected or under-connected areas online.”

Google plans to eventually provide internet to the entire country—and beyond. “We want to boost the internet in all of the world,” says Singh. “Our primary focus is on getting these unconnected or under-connected areas online.”