Google partnered Australian operator Telstra to launch the first test-fly internet beaming balloons in Australia as part of its Project Loon, writes the Sydney Morning Herald paper. A total of 20 test-fly balloons will be launched in western Queensland in December. With this project, Google aims to beam internet to remote regions via helium balloons that circle the globe on stratospheric winds.
The balloons carry antennas that can beam 4G-like signals to homes and phones 20 kilometres below. Telstra's role in the partnership will be to supply base stations to communicate with the balloons and access to space on the radio spectrum. The project's ultimate goal is to bring internet to the estimated two-thirds of people who are presently unwired. The balloons may one day provide coverage to areas struck by natural disasters. The technology may also enable developing countries avoid investing in underground fibre cabling.
