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Facebook's Slender 'Aquila' Drone To Provide Internet In Remote Areas

Posted by timothy on from the wide-arms dept.

Mickeycaskill writes: Facebook will start testing a 400kg drone with the wingspan of a Boeing 737 next year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said, as part of the company's drive to connect people in remote areas to the Internet. Aquila will fly between 60,000ft and 90,000ft as to avoid adverse weather conditions and commercial air routes, while the attached laster can transmit data at 10Gbps. Facebook claims it can accurately connect with a point the size of a US 5-cent coin from more than 10 miles away.

3 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. as part of which drive, again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    as part of the company's drive to connect people in remote areas to Facebook.

    Fixed that for them.

  2. A non starter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Hitting a 5 cent size target from 10 miles away is quite useless when you are 17 miles up. Who comes up with that stuff?

  3. Re:Bad move facebook by Dunbal · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Of course said drone was snooping in his backyard filming his daughters and looking under his porch, not flying a circuit at 90,000 feet.

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    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.