Facebook said it has decided to stop building any of the high-altitude aircraft it developed, like the Aquila, to bring internet to underserved areas. The Aquila solar-powered plane was launched in 2014, as part of the company’s high altitude platform station (HAPS) system. The idea was to bring cheap broadband services using the planes. Towards this end, Facebook opened premises in Bridgwater, UK, to design, develop and test the technology and was able to carry out two test flights. The Bridgwater offices will however be closed down, and Facebook will instead cooperate with partners like Airbus on HAPS connectivity going forward.
On the policy front, the company will be working on a proposal for the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference to get more spectrum for HAPS, and will actively participate in a number of aviation advisory boards and rule-making committees in the US and internationally. Facebook said it will continue to invest in next-gen internet technologies such as Terragraph and Express Wi-Fi.
