82
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. von Ehrenfried, Stratospheric Balloons, Springer Praxis Books,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68130-2_5
5
Commercial Corporations and Applications
5.1 LOON
Loon LLC is an Alphabet, Inc., subsidiary working on providing internet access to
rural and remote areas. It operates high altitude super-pressure balloons in the
stratosphere at altitudes from 18 km (11 mi) to 25 km (16 mi) to create an aerial
wireless network giving speeds of up to 1 Mbps. It was initially an R&D project
funded by X (formerly Google X) and in July 2018 it was spun off as a separate
company.
Using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) to determine wind speed and direction at various altitudes, Loon maneuvers their balloons to the desired locations.
Users of the service connect to the balloon network in the same way they connect to a terrestrial network. The signal travels from balloon to balloon and thence
to a ground-based station connected to an internet service provider (ISP). The
system aims to bring internet access to remote and rural areas poorly served by
existing ground based networks and to provide communication during natural
disasters.
The balloons use patch antennas that are directional antennas to transmit signals to internet users and connect the balloon network to the ISP. The infrastructure is based on Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the eNodeB component (the
equivalent of the “base station” that talks directly to handsets) carried in the
balloon.
Inside Google’s wildly ambitious internet balloon project. For a 7:55 video, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGW2sZsUiQ
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. von Ehrenfried, Stratospheric Balloons, Springer Praxis Books,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68130-2_5
5
Commercial Corporations and Applications
5.1 LOON
Loon LLC is an Alphabet, Inc., subsidiary working on providing internet access to
rural and remote areas. It operates high altitude super-pressure balloons in the
stratosphere at altitudes from 18 km (11 mi) to 25 km (16 mi) to create an aerial
wireless network giving speeds of up to 1 Mbps. It was initially an R&D project
funded by X (formerly Google X) and in July 2018 it was spun off as a separate
company.
Using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) to determine wind speed and direction at various altitudes, Loon maneuvers their balloons to the desired locations.
Users of the service connect to the balloon network in the same way they connect to a terrestrial network. The signal travels from balloon to balloon and thence
to a ground-based station connected to an internet service provider (ISP). The
system aims to bring internet access to remote and rural areas poorly served by
existing ground based networks and to provide communication during natural
disasters.
The balloons use patch antennas that are directional antennas to transmit signals to internet users and connect the balloon network to the ISP. The infrastructure is based on Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the eNodeB component (the
equivalent of the “base station” that talks directly to handsets) carried in the
balloon.
Inside Google’s wildly ambitious internet balloon project. For a 7:55 video, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGW2sZsUiQ