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This May, sleuths at IEEE Spectrum revealed something exciting -- Facebook appeared to be secrely working on an experimental satellite that could beam internet down to Earth using millimeter wave radio signals.
Now, Facebook has confirmed to Wired and CNET that the satellite, dubbed Athena, is indeed a Facebook project -- and that Facebook is a believer in satellite internet technology.
"While we have nothing to share about specific projects at this time, we believe satellite technology will be an important enabler of the next generation of broadband infrastructure, making it possible to bring broadband connectivity to rural regions where internet connectivity is lacking or non-existent," a Facebook spokesperson told CNET and Wired.
But Wired does have more to share about this specific project. Using a Freedom of Information Act request, Wired says it obtained emails from the FCC that reportedly show Facebook plans to launch the Athena satellite in early 2019. In space launch terms, that's coming up pretty dang fast.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @10:09AM
Probably more than one, because low orbit needed for latency reaons, right? So, how many?
On an unrelated note, this seems like a diversification maneuver, meaning Farcebook won't be dependant on their current business model being sustainable. Which is a shame, because it needs to die or be regulated back to the stone age already.