Facebook wants to bring internet to Africa by shooting 11,000 drones into its sky
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Facebook is reportedly eyeing the purchase of a drone manufacturer to expand its Internet.org initiative. The social media network could spend $60 million on Titan Aerospace, a company that makes solar-powered flying robots that can float in the sky for up to five years. To help jumpstart Facebook's ambitious plan in connecting parts of the world that lack internet connectivity, the company wants to shoot 11,000 drones up into the African sky.
Titan Aerospace manufactures the Solara 60, a lightweight drone that shoots 12.5 miles into the sky and siphons the sun's rays for energy. But the part that Facebook is most impressed with is that the gizmos can be equipped with high-tech communication software that can beam the internet to the land below.
Facebook has yet to confirm confirm the news, which was first reported by TechCrunch.
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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
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