Google to invest $1bn in fleet of 180 internet relay satellites
Google has announced it is to splash out $1bn to launch a flotilla of 180 satellites to offer full global internet access for the first time.
Project Loon will entail inserting the small, high capacity craft in low-Earth orbit to establish internet communications in areas of the world not served by existing infrastructure.
The initiative comes in the wake of similar efforts by Facebook to propagate its services in new markets in the form of its Connectivity Lab, which has the explicit goal of connecting the two-thirds of the global population who currently have no internet access.
In a statement Google said: "Internet connectivity significantly improves people's lives. Yet two thirds of the world have no access at all. It's why we're so focused on new technologies—from Project Loon to Titan Aerospace—that have the potential to bring hundreds of millions more people online in the coming years.”