Originally published on the CGS blog on September 14, 2013.
Not Quite the World Wide Web: a three-part series about the importance of full access to the internet for all
Imagine a world where wifi signals were more accessible than sunlight. You won’t have to wait for very long because Google is already on it.
In the last post in this series I discussed the motivations and intensions behind the push to provide cheap and reliable internet access for all. This week I want to explore just exactly how companies like Google, Facebook and Soni Ericson plan on doing this.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg launched a new plan, in August, to connect the remaining two thirds of the world to the internet. Companies like Samsung, Qualcomm, Nokia, and Ericsson have joined forces with Facebook and call the plan “Internet.org.” Zuckerberg believes that in order to widen their market, the telecom and tech industries need to make systematic changes. He also estimated that it will take at least 10 years for significant progress. He outlined the three biggest hurdles that the initiative faces:
- Reduce the cost of technology(Think plastic phones and laptops)
- Improve data compression to make networks more efficient(Also by reducing the amount of data popular apps need to run on a mobile device)
- Invent business models that balance connectivity and revenue(Providing internet to the world would not be sustainable as a charity case)
Internet.org is in its infancy and has not yet outlined the specific ways it intends to cross these hurdles but the mere fact the Zuckerberg has been able to unite so many industry leaders behind this cause is a testament to its potential.
Facebook is not the only tech giant who has decided to throw their weight behind this cause. Google began testing on their new initiative, Project Loon, in June. The basic plan is to launch giant weather balloons into the Earth’s atmosphere to amplify and carry internet service to rural areas. The balloons are solar powered, would require very little maintenance, and their locations can be controlled by manipulating air currents. All a small village would need to access the balloon powered internet is a small receiver that would be installed on the outside of a community building. Google has thought of everything, they even work with air traffic control to time and schedule the launches and retrievals of balloons. Cliff Biffle, lead Tech on Project Loon, remarked, “Balloon powered internet sounds positively mad and in a way it is but its mad in a very practical way that just might work.” I think Cliff accurately summarizes my feelings toward Project Loon. It sounds out of this world (literally) but it is this kind of radical, out of the box thinking that is needed to reach out to the 5 billion people without internet access.
Watch the video below to get an idea of what Project Loon aims to achieve and read the WIRED Magazine article to learn more about the technical aspects of the project. http://www.wired.com/business/?p=82095
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m96tYpEk1Ao
