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This article was published on March 26, 2015

Facebook and Internet.org are building drones to bring the Web to remote places


Facebook and Internet.org are building drones to bring the Web to remote places

Facebook works with Internet.org to bring internet access to remote places and today announced that it’s building drones, satellites and lasers in Facebook’s Connectivity Lab to achieve that goal.

Mark Zuckerberg previously announced its Aquila drones on Facebook, saying that the team is made up of leading experts in aerospace and communications technology from notable places like NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Ames Research center.

There aren’t a huge amount of details available yet, but it hovers at around 60,000 feet delivering internet for up to “months” at a time. The drones have a wingspan that’s equivalent to that of a 737.

Facebook said that the altitude is the lowest permitted for unregulated airspace and this zone has stable weather conditions and low wind speeds, which means the aircraft can easily cruise and conserve power, generating

Screen Shot 2015-03-27 at 6.10.05 am

The company has made available a detailed white paper on how it hopes to deliver internet to these regions using unmanned drones.

➤ Mark Zuckerberg on drones [Facebook]

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