How does Google Loon balloon work?

Loon, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, produces tennis-court-sized balloons that are filled with helium and sent into the stratosphere. They can transit internet signals from ground stations to smartphones and other personal devices – just like cell towers, but nearly 20 kilometres up in the air.

What is Project Loon balloons?

Project Loon, which was spun out of Google’s Alphabet in 2018, aimed to use high altitude balloons the size of tennis courts to provide Internet to inaccessible places. The project’s name referred to the airborne nature of the project and the fact that the idea could be seen as loony.

How big is a loon balloon?

The balloons are superpressure balloons filled with helium, standing 15 m (49 ft) across and 12 m (39 ft) tall when fully inflated. They carry a custom air pump system dubbed the “Croce” that pumps in or releases air to ballast the balloon and control its altitude.

Why is Loon shutting down?

Loon announced it is shutting down, citing the lack of a “long-term, sustainable business.” While we’ve found a number of willing partners along the way, we haven’t found a way to get the costs low enough to build a long-term, sustainable business.

How does Loon connect?

Loon beams Internet derived from local mobile operators or partners such as a regional telco which is wirelessly connected to deployable Edge locations operated by Loon. These ground stations send singles to the balloons, which can be routed between balloons before finally reaching the customer on the ground.

What are the yellow balloons on flight radar?

The balloons are designed to float up to 20km above the earth for around 100 days at a time carrying a connectivity base station to bring an LTE (4G) signal to remote areas.

Why are there balloons over Kenya?

A network of giant internet-enabled balloons from Google’s sister firm Loon is to provide internet access to remote areas of Kenya. It will provide 4G coverage so people can make voice and video calls, browse the web, email, text and stream videos.

What is Project Loon?

Project Loon is a radical approach to expanding Internet connectivity. Instead of trying to extend the Internet from the ground, Loon takes to the sky via a network of balloons, traveling along the edge of space, to expand Internet connectivity to rural areas, fill coverage gaps, and improve network resilience in the event of a disaster.

Can Loon balloons bring internet service to Kenya?

Yesterday Google sister company Loon announced that it is now providing internet service to subscribers of Telkom Kenya via 35 tennis court-sized balloons over 20,000 square miles in western and central Kenya.

How do Loon balloons work?

“As our balloons, or flight vehicles as we call them, float on stratospheric winds, they work together to provide coverage to areas below,” Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth writes.

How long does it take to get Internet on a balloon?

Each balloon lasts up to 100 days before landing, and can provide internet access to up to 4,000 square miles: 200 times that of a traditional fixed terrestrial cell tower. Solar panels charge the balloon, and users connect via any ordinary LTE mobile phone.