[Chapter-delegates] Global connectivity

[Glenn McKnight]

Virgin boss Richard Branson said his company is joining forces with
Qualcomm to put thousands of Internet satellites into orbit, offering Web
<http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/>access to remote locations that don’t
currently have it.

If that sounds familiar, that’s because Facebook (together with a group of
big-name tech firms), and Google (Project Loon) are also working toward
similar goals.

To make the project happen, the two companies will be investing heavily in
satellite Internet firm OneWeb Ltd. – possibly familiar to some by its
former name of WorldVu Satellites.

“We plan to put an initial array of 648 satellites up, and if that’s
successful, we want to go to 2,400 satellites,” Branson told CNBC
<http://www.cnbc.com/id/102340448#.> on Thursday. “The idea is to reach the
billions of people who don’t have Internet access and to do so with good
quality reception and good prices.”

*Related:* Will Zuckerberg use his Internet-laser drones for good or for
evil?
<http://www.digitaltrends.com/opinion/mark-zuckerberg-humanitarian-super-villain/>

According to the International Telecommunications Union, more than 50
percent of the world’s population is currently without Internet access. The
initial array of nearly 650 micro satellites is intended to provide
“low-latency, high-speed Internet access directly to small user terminals
deployed around the world,” OneWeb said in a release
<http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150115005196/en/OneWeb-Announces-Plans-Launch-Satellite-Constellation-Bring#.VLhW7WSUcex>
.

The plan is to connect “rural and remote areas” using the satellites, which
are likely to cost around $350,000 each to build.

The satellites will be put into orbit by LauncherOne – Virgin Galactic’s
under-construction orbital launch vehicle – a method which Branson
considers highly cost effective.

“It’s much more efficient than the big rockets of the past,” he said. “We
can literally take off every three or four hours.”

There’s speculation that OneWeb could work with Elon Musk’s SpaceX
<http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/spacexs-elon-musk-wants-launch-hundreds-lighter-cheaper-internet-satellites/>
company
on the production of the satellites, though neither company has offered any
concrete information on the possibility.

Meanwhile, it seems the race is well and truly on to be the first to
succeed with sky-based global broadband initiatives. While Facebook is looking
to send drones
<http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/facebook-to-start-testing-wi-fi-drones-next-year/>
the
size of massive passenger planes into orbit to bring Web access to the
masses, Google is looking at high-altitude balloons
<http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/google-to-further-project-loon-with-test-flights-over-australia/>
 and satellites
<http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/google-buying-skybox-satellite-firm-boost-maps/>
to achieve a similar goal.

Read more:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/virgin-and-qualcomm-launch-latest-broadband-for-the-masses-satellite-project/#ixzz3P70J5KXK
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Glenn McKnight
mcknight.glenn at gmail.com
skype  gmcknight
twitter gmcknight
.
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