Google is already known to be testing its Project Loon initiative, which aims to provide Internet connectivity to remote areas through a floating balloon. Now, the company has been revealed to be developing a new technology called Project Skybender, which uses drones to beam Internet to ground users.
Skybender drones appear to be state-of-the-art UAVs. They are not only capable of staying afloat for a long period of time because they are solar-powered. The drones are also capable of data connectivity that is already classified as 5G technology, The Guardian reported. This new wireless Internet technology is capable of transmitting gigabytes of data 40 times faster than what LTE technology can currently manage.
The new Google project is still shrouded in secrecy, and Skybender prototypes are being tested in an isolated facility previously used by space flight company Virgin Galactic. It is, however, believed to be related to Project Loon, as both are being developed under Google's Access unit, according to Popular Science.
Google is increasingly getting involved in the business of providing Internet data. It has, for instance, already rolled out its wireless Internet service called Project Fi in selected areas in the U.S. This is aligned with how Facebook is also seeking to bring free Internet to remote and poor communities across the globe. There is the belief that wider Internet coverage will benefit the way these tech companies deliver and profit from their respective core services.
