[Chapter-delegates] Fwd: Google Testing Blimp Broadband in Africa

[Joly MacFie]

Apparently, not just Africa. It's called Project Loon.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-to-use-balloons-to-provide-internet-access-to-remote-areas/2013/06/14/f9d78196-d507-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_story.html

Google will announce Saturday it has 30 balloons floating over New
Zealand to provide free Internet access to disaster-stricken, rural or
poor areas. Eventually, as the balloons move across the stratosphere,
consumers in participating countries along the 40th parallel in the
Southern Hemisphere could tap into the service.

On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 8:48 PM, Joly MacFie <joly at punkcast.com> wrote:
>
> Probably you can't do much more than sit and hope right now Edwin, but I am
> sure it wouldn't do any harm to get in touch.
>
> Contact appears to be Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Public Policy Manager, Google
> South Africa
>  <fortune.sibanda at gmail.com>
>
> j
>
>
> On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 7:16 PM, Edwin A. Opare <aeopare at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Joly,
>>
>> What can we do help?
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Edwin A. Opare
>> ISOC Ghana
>>
>>
>> On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 11:05 PM, Joly MacFie <joly at punkcast.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> (fwd from ISOC Trustee Dave Farber)
>>>
>>>
>>> Google Testing Blimp Broadband in Africa
>>> Blimpband: Long Promised, Never Delivered
>>> By Karl Bode
>>> May 28 2013
>>>
>>> <http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Google-Testing-Blimp-Broadband-in-Africa-124389>
>>>
>>> For years we've talked about the idea of "stratellites" -- or blimps
>>> proposed for use primarily as communications vessels either in military
>>> conflict, disaster zones, or in rural markets. One of the "leaders" (the
>>> term is used loosely) in the field has been Sanswire Networks, whose
>>> "blimpband" services have made hype-drenched headlines for years yet never
>>> actually materialized. Now Google is breathing new life into the blimpband
>>> market with the news that they're tinkering with blimp-based broadband" for
>>> use in markets like Africa:
>>>
>>> Search giant Google is intending to build huge wireless networks across
>>> Africa and Asia, using high-altitude balloons and blimps. The company is
>>> intending to finance, build and help operate networks from sub-Saharan
>>> Africa to Southeast Asia, with the aim of connecting around a billion people
>>> to the web. To help enable the campaign, Google has been putting together an
>>> ecosystem of low-cost smartphones running Android on low-power
>>> microprocessors. Rather than traditional infrastructure, Google's signal
>>> will be carried by high-altitude platforms - balloons and blimps - that can
>>> transmit to areas of hundreds of square kilometres.
>>>
>>> Like Microsoft, who also has an interest in Africa as an exploding mobile
>>> market, Google has also been working on using White Space broadbandto
>>> deliver connectivity to Africa.
>>>
>>> [snip]
>>>
>>> --
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Joly MacFie  218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast
>>> WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com
>>>  http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com
>>>  VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------
>>> -
>>>
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>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Joly MacFie  218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast
> WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com
>  http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com
>  VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -



-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------
Joly MacFie  218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast
WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com
 http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com
 VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org
--------------------------------------------------------------
-