Indonesia has the fourth-largest population of any country in the world, distributed across just over 900 islands out of an archipelago of over 17,000, making communications infrastructure complex to deploy. The country ranks 118th in the world for per-capita gross domestic product, and the World Bank estimates that just 17 percent of Indonesians have access to the Internet. With these stats, Google has decided to launch Alphabet’s Loon Balloons to provide uniform and proper cellular network coverage to all of Indonesia.
Alphabet confirmed to have signed an agreement with Indonesia’s largest telecommunications companies, Indosat, XL Axiata, and Telkomsel, for a series of trials starting in 2016 that will include providing high-speed wireless Internet service to smartphones and other devices used by the network’s subscribers. “If all these tests go well, then we’ll have a signal we’re ready for commercial launch,” said Mike Cassidy, who leads Project Loon, during a media event on Wednesday announcing the tests. “Today’s announcement is about trying to improve the lives of tens of millions of Indonesians.”
Loon balloons are made from thin plastic similar to a heavyweight trash bag, and they carry a payload of electronics and communications equipment powered by a solar panel. The only control over these balloons after their launch would be alteration of altitude. The rest would depend on wind speeds.
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The biggest challenge would be to coordinate the balloons together to provide all-round coverage. Certain areas between island and thick tropical forests are tricky and costly to cover. These are the special areas that would be targeted in this trial test.
Stuff like the price and accessibility to the people have yet to be decided, and the companies involved think it’s way too early to discuss that. Another uncertainty is that Loon balloons use LTE wireless technology, which is only just starting to penetrate the Indonesian market.
“I think this technology’s suitable for most countries,” Google cofounder Sergey Brin said. Loon balloons have also been tested with telecommunications companies in Australia, Brazil, and New Zealand.
Google plans to launch the balloons with a complex system model of global stratospheric wind conditions to check the balloons in check and close enough to provide coverage. They have been shown to ravel 10,000 kilometers and within 500 meters of the target area.
Author:Technology Blog
