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posted by cmn32480 on Friday September 30 2016, @08:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the get-yer-pellet-guns dept.

Google, which is hoping to beam the internet to remote areas of the world via balloon, went before the UN's aviation agency to ask member states to let it ply their airspace.

The company's X Lab, which was created to pursue big-vision projects, said it hopes to establish a network of helium balloons floating in the stratosphere that will emit a powerful 4G signal to rural and difficult-to-access areas.

The new initiative—launched in 2013 and dubbed "Project Loon"—saw its first balloon take off from South America in February only to crash at a tea plantation in Sri Lanka, where it was discovered by villagers.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, had partnered with Sri Lanka to bring the internet to remote areas there. The country's Information and Communication Technology Agency, which coordinated the tests with Google, described the landing as controlled and scheduled.

Why not build a giant transmitter on the Moon?


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Chromium_One on Friday September 30 2016, @09:42PM

    by Chromium_One (4574) on Friday September 30 2016, @09:42PM (#408538)

    I know this is scary, but we need you to be brave. Please show us on the doll where the bad advertising company touched you ...

    That said, despite Google's numerous and continuing failings, they're probably in the best position to be doing something like this with getting good networking everywhere. So if not them, then who would you rather see doing this? Or would you prefer to say that the (non-monetary) cost is still too high for the moment?

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    When you live in a sick society, everything you do is wrong.
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 30 2016, @09:49PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 30 2016, @09:49PM (#408543)

    *touches her entire body* everywhere, sir and it makes me feel icky!
    I think your assumption that this is a thing that needs to be done, is wrong. I don't think this is a thing that needs to be done, that humanity is waiting for, or that would advance anyone in any way shape or form. So to answer your second question "if not them, then who", my answer is: no-one.
    My answer has got nothing to do with monetary cost but everything with human cost. This will only be used to sell you useless baubles and worthless trinkets. This is not something humanity needs.

    • (Score: 2) by Chromium_One on Friday September 30 2016, @11:51PM

      by Chromium_One (4574) on Friday September 30 2016, @11:51PM (#408590)

      Ubiquitous world-wide network access is ...
      Useless? No.
      Worthless? Seriously, no.
      Necessary? Oh hell no.
      Inevitable? Probably.
      Soon? Probably not.
      Has lots of tradeoffs and political footballing involved? Definitely, at least under current conditions.
      Used only to sell useless baubles and trinkets? Sure, let's pretend you're right and that the Intarwebz begin and end at Amazon, eBay, and the like.
      No privacy of any sort with Teh Goog as the provider? Variable. They do better than some and far worse than others. I don't like the pervasive data capture that goes far, far beyond what's either reasonable or needed for their core business (advertising, with lots of nifty side projects) but they do limit what they share outside of their organization. Workarounds are available, though they do require effort, edjumicashun, and vigilance.

      On the topic of human costs, care to share further concerns?

      --
      When you live in a sick society, everything you do is wrong.