Google Broadband By Balloon (Loon) Is About To Go Global

In June of 2013 Google unveiled Google Loon, the latest in a long line of similar projects that will use balloons to deliver broadband and wireless services to under-served or emergency prone areas. Project Loon will use balloons 49 feet wide stationed 12 miles above the planet, well above the range of commercial aircraft. Ground base stations set some sixty miles apart communicate with solar-powered radio transmitters affixed to the balloons, and Google steers the balloons using wind as they ride the 40th parallel.

In an update posted over at Youtube , Google says the company is preparing for a much larger deployment, and tackling the challenge of "moving from small scale, one-off launches and tests, to the scale and automation required to make balloon-powered Internet for all a reality."

Loon saw plenty of critics early on who claimed Google would be lucky to keep its broadband balloons aloft for more than a couple of days. Now, Google's busy keeping balloons in the air for hundreds of days over thousands of kilometers, and it's ready for the next big step.

"We're getting close to the point where can roll out thousands of balloons," Project Lead Mike Cassidy says. "In the beginning, it was all we could do to launch one balloon a day, now with our automated crane system, we can launch dozens of balloons a day, for every crane we have."

Ultimately, Google says it hopes to work with existing telcos to use Loon to help bolster existing connectivity in hard-to-reach areas, or as a supplemental offering during natural disasters or major events. The company isn't yet at the point where it can offer up details of a full commercial launch, but Google seems relatively confident that date isn't far off.