back to article Google says Loony broadband balloons are 'nearly perfect'

Google is promising that its Project Loon balloon-broadband initiative is ready to go and wants to announce its first operator partners in Africa soon. Last Friday, Google [x] regional business lead Wael Fakharany told the GSMA Mobile 360 conference in South Africa the company has “almost perfected” the Loon technology. …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ain't rural here in Hell (Fresno), California, but I'd much prefer some competition to Comcast and farm land is less than a mile away. Pretty please! (We were runner up for first Google fibre.)

    1. PleebSmash

      They should license the techniques and balloons so that others can undertake the fun process of negotiating with the FAA and launching airborne ISPs.

  2. Graham Marsden

    Who's going to clean up after them?

    These ballons will, of course, drift on the wind and others will have to be sent up to replace them.

    All of these will, eventually, come down somewhere which may not be easily accessible, leaving a mess for someone to clean up...

    1. Calleb III

      Re: Who's going to clean up after them?

      The balloons are going to be tethered to the ground. Just imagine them as a very high cell towers.

    2. DropBear

      Re: Who's going to clean up after them?

      "All of these will, eventually, come down somewhere which may not be easily accessible, leaving a mess for someone to clean up..."

      The whole idea behind the project is that they can take advantage of wind conditions at different altitudes to exert a reasonable amount of control over which way the balloons go and where exactly they land if there's no suitable "return wind" and they have to be brought down. I wouldn't expect them to land on a dime, but I'd think the large spaces meant to be covered would provide suitably large landing opportunities...

      "The balloons are going to be tethered to the ground"

      Care to point to a citation for that, mate?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yes

    the real clouds you can see are below the balloon, and your signal gets through the clouds to the balloon and on to the cloud, yes.

    No you stay one the ground, and your phone too.

    Well we don't as much steer the balloon as make it go up and down.

    No the wind in your village should not affect reception.

  4. hatti

    strong signal

    I hope these will be tethered in some way otherwise with the wind doing its thing would they not all just end up eddying over one spot on the planet. e.g. Someone smiling somewhere in the gulf of mexico with a very satisfactory five bar signal.

  5. Mark 85
    Coat

    This seems to be taking the cloud to new heights. I'll get me coat.

  6. Youngone Silver badge

    US? Won't happen

    The incumbent US ISP's are too politically connected to let this happen on any real scale.

    Have a wee search about Chattanooga and Comcast.

    Google might need to get into the campaign finance business in a bigger way.

    1. CarbonLifeForm

      Re: US? Won't happen

      Agree with everything you say, but Google is certainly no stranger to spreading the wealth around for political favors.

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