Alphabet is sending 'internet balloons' to Puerto Rico
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.
The Project Loon team launched the balloons over the Nevada desert over the weekend, and they are now hovering 12.5 miles above ground in Puerto Rico. But X cannot create internet access alone: The company partners with existing cellphone companies to generate LTE access where cell towers and networks have been affected. In Puerto Rico, the team is working with AT&T.
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.
"We plan to continue to offer emergency internet connectivity in areas where it's needed for as long as it is useful and we're able to do so," wrote Alastair Westgarth, the head of Project Loon. "We hope it helps get people the information and communication they need to get through this unimaginably difficult time."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Elianna Spitzer is a rising junior at Brandeis University, majoring in Politics and American Studies. She is also a news editor and writer at The Brandeis Hoot. When she is not covering campus news, Elianna can be found arguing legal cases with her mock trial team.q
-
India elections start amid violence, hate speech accusations
Talking Points Narendra Modi seeks a third term while critics worry about the future of the country's democracy
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Bird flu worries mount as virus found in milk, cows
Speed Read The FDA found traces of the virus in pasteurized grocery store milk
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published