As part of the internet.org initiative, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook is planning to buy Titan Aerospace, makers of near-orbital, solar-powered drones which can fly for five years without needing to land, to help further the agenda for $60 million. The Internet.org initiative is a project unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in partnership with Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera and Qualcomm, aimed at bringing affordable Internet access to the 5 billion people without it.
Zuckerberg is interested in using these high-flying drones to cover parts of the world without Internet access, beginning with Africa. The company would start by building 11,000 of these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), specifically the “Solara 60″ model.
While it might seem like the whole world is connected, only one-third of the world’s population has access to internet, and adoption is only growing at 9 percent. Internet.org aims to speed up that rate.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, “There are huge barriers in developing countries to connecting and joining the knowledge economy. Internet.org brings together a global partnership that will work to overcome these challenges, including making internet access available to those who cannot currently afford it.”
The Solara 50 and 60 models which facebook plans to buy, can be launched at night using power from internal battery packs, then when the sun rises, they can store enough energy to ascend to 20KM above sea level where they can remain for five years without needing to land or refuel. Such capabilities make them ideal for regional internet systems, like those that Internet.org would be focused on.
Take a look at the Solara 50 in this short video.
Watch Mark Zuckerberg speaks on CNN about the internet.org initiative
