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UK Testing Wireless Broadband Via Airship

Posted by timothy on from the hope-no-one-shoots-this-idea-down dept.

fruey writes "A team from York University, UK are about to test high altitude platforms, according to this article, as a way of bringing high-speed internet services to computer users in remote areas out of reach of broadband. They plan to use solar powered engines to keep the aerial platforms in position. The Capanina site have some more information about this stratospheric broadband experiment. More technical stuff can be found at the York University website This technology could deliver broadband communications at data rates up to 120Mbit/s! Screw cable and xDSL, when will stratospheric be available near me?"

3 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. A storm? by anethema · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I would like to see the engines keep an airship in position in a storm or gale force wind.

    Maybe a carbon nanotube tether is in order ;)

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    It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.
  2. Re:Microlights by famebait · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Are you joking? The airships in question would of course not be mere blimps but dirigibles, using solar power and propellers to stay in place.

    There may be advantages to microlights, but the effect of one losing power and falling down on your head (or house) is not one of them...

    --
    sudo ergo sum
  3. Re:UFOs by Eccles · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why do we need these things when the money could be used to lay cable ?

    Dunno about you, but I would love competing services (and thus presumably lower prices) for broadband, or even to have redundancy in my connection. Cable costs me an arm and a leg at the moment, and is my only choice. There could be multiple airship-based providers as well as DSL and cable.

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    Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.