Slashdot Mirror
Facebook Wants Drones To Connect the Developing World
judgecorp writes "Facebook is reportedly hoping to buy drone specialist Titan Aerospace in order to provide airborne relays for Internet connectivity in developing countries, as part of its internet.org project. The solar-powered drones are classified as "atmospheric satellites" and can fly for five years. The rumoured project sounds quite similar to Google's Project Loon, which proposes using balloons for the same job." More coverage at SlashCloud, which notes that the purchase is rumored but not yet publicly confirmed.
"drone" implies a level of autonomous or remote control, not necessarily the method it uses for flight.
These don't look to be blimps, btw. http://titanaerospace.com/plat...
They're largely a century or two behind us in socio-economic development, especially in the rural areas. But they have the benefit of cheap modern technology, so you'd better believe they're developing FAR faster than we did.
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