Google Is Going To Restore Internet Connectivity In Puerto Rico With Giant Air Balloons
Puerto Rico has been making it to the news almost every day because of tragic reasons. A hurricane has brought life on the region to a standstill and rehabilitation efforts have now begun. However, following the devastating hurricane, internet connectivity in the region has been down – and Google is now planning to help restore it.
Google parent Alphabet has as secret research arm ‘X’ where they work on a lot of wacky ideas which can change our perspective of things. One such idea is providing internet to areas with no connectivity with the help of giant balloons – Project Loon.
A live visual of Google’s Project Loon balloon being prepared.
Puerto Rico is all set to get emergency connectivity which will help them get back online with the help of Google’s Project Loon. Google just received an experimental license from the FCC which will allow them to provide emergency connectivity to Puerto Rico with the help of their giant air balloons.
The company has been testing Project Loon for a while now. While Puerto Rico might be the next place this comes at. the technology was tested in Peru earlier this year in May.
Google’s Project Loon will help restore internet and cellular connectivity in Puerto Rico
In May, Peru and nearby regions were affected by a major flood. Google’s Project Loon helped bring back internet connectivity in Lima, Chimbote, and Piura. Google claims that more than 160 GB of data was “sent to people over a combined area of 40,000 km2.” A similar service is now expected to be brought to Puerto Rico which will help the citizens connect with each other.
As per the reports from the FCC, 83 percent of cell sites in Puerto Rico are out of service, 57 percent for the US Virgin Islands, and 100 percent for St. John. This is how devastating the hurricane was. The only thing that Google now awaits is tying up with a local telecom company – once that is done, expect internet to be beamed upon Puerto Rico with the help of Google powered air-balloons!
Source: Android Authority
