Facebook to build drones, satellites and lasers to connect two thirds of the planet which remains offline
Facebook has revealed that its Connectivity lab, a team of experts assembled from the likes of NASA and Ascenta, the UK firm which built the world’s longest flying solar-powered craft, are to build drones, satellites and lasers to connect two thirds of the planet which presently does not have internet access.
Part of the internet.org campaign to develop new technologies which address the technical and financial obstacles to getting people online the team are focussing on ways to beam internet to people directly from the sky.
Spearheaded by Mark Zuckerberg the project has already helped 3m new people access the internet in the Philippines and Paraguay, doubling the number of people using mobile data with Facebook’s partner operators.
Zuckerberg commented: “Our goal with Internet.org is to make affordable access to basic internet services available to every person in the world.
“We're looking forward to working with our Internet.org partners and operators worldwide to deploy these technologies and deliver on the dream of connecting the world.”