Alphabet's ambitious X lab looked skyward to help the recovery process in Puerto Rico, sending "internet balloons" to the battered island territory over the weekend. Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico over a month ago, and Alphabet, Google's parent company, sought to use high-flying technology to help, NBC News reports.
The FCC reported Monday that at least 66 percent of cellular sites in Puerto Rico were still out of service as a result of Hurricane Maria. X's balloons, known as Project Loon, aimed to increase internet access in areas affected by outages. With the approval of several governmental organizations including the FCC and FAA, X deployed the "internet balloons," which carry the technology necessary to provide basic internet access for LTE-enabled phones. The balloons can hover over a specified area using machine learning-powered algorithms, the lab wrote.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attackspeed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'
-
When did computer passwords become a thing?The Explainer People have been racking their brains for good codes for longer than you might think
-
On the trail of the Iberian lynxThe Week Recommends Explore the culture, food – and wildlife – of Extremadura on this stunning Spanish safari
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
