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from the cue-the-monsoon-and-shark-comments dept.
Instead of using balloons or drones, Alphabet/Google X plans to create a backbone of fixed boxes that communicate using lasers in order to deliver Internet access in Andhra Pradesh. Users would connect to the end points wirelessly:
Alphabet's X Lab has cooked up yet another Internet connectivity scheme, according to a report from Reuters. Past efforts have involved floating Internet balloons and laying lots of fiber optic cable, but this Internet delivery system sends data over laser beams! This isn't an experimental system like Project Loon; India's Andhra Pradesh state government has signed an agreement with Alphabet to bring the technology to millions of people starting next year.
[...] Alphabet's rollout in India will involve fitting "2,000 boxes installed as far as 20 kilometers (12 miles) apart on posts and roofs" according to the report. The optical system is expected to hit 20 Gbit/s from box to box and would serve as a backbone, replacing more expensive technologies like fiber optics. The final connection to users would happen over Wi-Fi or cellular.
Related: Google May Test Balloon Internet Service Over the United States
Google Kills Off Titan Internet Drone "Moonshot"
Alphabet Deploys Project Loon Balloons to Puerto Rico
Balloons Provide Internet Service to 100,000 People in Puerto Rico
(Score: 2) by Virindi on Monday December 18 2017, @04:49AM (8 children)
I hope it doesn't rain or snow there. How wide is the beam at the emitter? Even an insect flying near it might disrupt service.
Also, what about dirt? Will it have some sort of integral self cleaning system or does someone have to go up there on a regular basis and clean the lenses?
Microwave relays seem much more reliable and less maintenance-intensive.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Monday December 18 2017, @05:02AM (2 children)
The last paragraph of the article discusses that but doesn't say if Google has found any solution to that.
I looked up some climate info for Andhra Pradesh. Here's something interesting [wikipedia.org]:
This is supported by the graph [worldweatheronline.com] on this page. 24 rainy days in July, 14 in August, 22 in September, plummeting to 5 by December, 0 in Jan/Feb 2017. Average temperatures are slightly lower in the winter months, as you'd expect.
So maybe it ends up being good for AirBnB homes during the tourist season. And then then from May to September it's raining more than half the time and it's hot.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Virindi on Monday December 18 2017, @05:11AM (1 child)
I see. They mention heat, which is something I was thinking maybe Google had solved.
Perhaps the laser has some kind of ability to aim (by a slight amount) and it has a tracking system to keep the spot on target even if thermals in the path cause the beam to be deflected. Or, the same due to poor mounting of the unit and wind etc.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday December 18 2017, @05:29AM
Wouldn't it be easier and perhaps more reliable with a wave-guide of some sort? I don't know, maybe something like optical fi... (oh, wait - large grin).
'tis about cheap, nobody mentioned reliability (proof: they don't care microwave can do the same but less sensitive to insects, pollution, rain).
So, wanna bet there won't be any tracking system?
(grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday December 18 2017, @05:47AM
Do it like wireless A/V systems do: use multiple redundant transmitters & receivers, pick best signal. Have an automated cleaning system- one getting cleaned while the others move data.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 18 2017, @06:55AM (3 children)
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by realDonaldTrump on Monday December 18 2017, @07:37AM
The White House is a dump. We have a very old record player. Does anyone remember records? You bump the needle a little, you scratch the record. And you go to play it, you can hear the scratch. Tick, tick, tick! Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick! It's not great, folks. Not great. But the CD, the Blu-Ray, maybe you scratch it a little. But when you go to play it, it plays fine. Like it's PERFECTO. Barron, he scratched a lot of our CDs and Blu-Rays. But he says, "father, it's OK." Because they play fine. They look like a DISASTER, they mostly play fine. Which he tells me is because they're full of cyber. A record player has very little cyber. But a CD or Blu-Ray player is full of it. The cyber takes out the scratches. So they look & sound amazing!
Imagine we had that for our Internet, imagine there was cyber to take out the parts that have problems. ISIS, the alt-left, Black Identity Extremists, and many more. Our Internet would look & sound perfect, like a CD or Blu-Ray! It's coming, folks.
(Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Monday December 18 2017, @07:43AM (1 child)
Three more words: Avalanche Photo Diode (APD) - sensitivity below -30dBm (-40 at low rates)
Three additional words: TCP retransmits, Patience.
Last two words: beam focus
Still, a Gig at 20km ain't beginner stuff. I'm sure people who had nothing will take at least ten minutes to learn to complain when it drops out.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 18 2017, @02:15PM
They can complain on the web form