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Facebook To Start Testing Internet-Beaming Drones In 2015
Zothecula writes There was an understandable amount of skepticism when Amazon announced its grand plans for delivery drones last year. But if the last twelve months are any indication, Jeff Bezos and his fellow tech heavyweights are actually kinda serious about the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles. Speaking at the Social Good Summit in New York on Monday, engineering director at Facebook Connectivity Lab, Yael Maguire, has further detailed the company's vision of internet-carrying drones, with plans to begin testing in 2015.
Anyone who uses faecesbook is a moron.
Does the internet shut off at night, then?
You know that's a very good question along with what wireless technology are they going to use? At more than 10 miles up there are no consumer grade wireless technologies that will work that far unless it's direct point to point, not omni. If you look at how ranges for WiFi tech have not improved with their speeds over time, I don't see this happening. Even going LTE or some cell tech you could get, at most, 2-5 km, or about 3-3.5 miles max. They want to start field testing this in at most five years. I just don't see it happening and I think that to assume nothing goes wrong and these things will always stay at 60k-90k altitude is folly as well. The first one of these to stray into a commercial airline route and collides with a passenger jet and the whole concept goes crumbling down. And Google and Balloons! OMG, if one of those fell into a plane, what a mess! I think this is a good idea on paper that has no chance of becoming reality.