Google loon which is owned by Loon LLC provided internet access to rural and remote areas. The company uses high-altitude balloons in the stratosphere at an altitude of 18km to 26km to create aerial wireless network with upto 4G-LTE speeds. The altitude has low wind speeds thus the layer has minimal turbulence making it vital to adjust the placements of balloons.
Loon claims it can control the latitudinal and longitudinal position of its high-altitude balloons by changing their altitude. They do this by adjusting the volume and density of internal gas (which is composed of either helium, hydrogen or another lighter-than-air-compound), which allows the balloon’s variable buoyancy system to control the altitude.
The technology designed in the project allow countries to avoid using expensive fiber cable that have to be installed underground to allow users to connect to the Internet. The balloons float high above the clouds, communicate with each other and with ground based networking equipment and mobile devices to get people connected.
Project Loon came out of Google X labs, the outfit known for other crazy-sounding projects like self-driving cars, Google Glass and contact lenses with computing components.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the partnership between Google loon and Telecom that will see Kenyans access 4G networks at affordable data charges. With the corona pandemic likely to derail economic development, the head of state said that the 4G network will enable most Kenyans to work from home to avoid derailing important sectors of the economy. He also insisted on need for learners to continue learning from home with the coordination of teachers and institutions responsible to provide education in this country with the advanced network from Google loon.
