Google's experiment in high-flying connectivity has been grounded. Here's what went wrong.
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Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced last month that it would shut down Loon, a project that used helium balloons to improve internet access in remote areas.
The technology was successfully deployed in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, and in Peru following a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in 2019 and the El Niño floods in 2017.
The project began with one goal: connect more of the world to the internet. It’s a lofty mission, but an urgent one. Only 51% of the global population is connected today, with people in poorer regions far less likely to be online, along with women, elderly people and those living in remote and rural areas. In the face of the Covid-19 crisis, this digital deprivation has devastating consequences.
But while we welcome investment and innovation from the private sector to bridge the stark global digital divide, initiatives like Loon often fail to live up to their soaring promises.
Any solution to connect rural and remote areas must be affordable and its delivery sustainable. And as the pandemic deepens inequalities between those who are meaningfully connected and those who are not, we must focus on proven models for connecting rural populations, such as community networks, and other public access solutions.
We have to be intentional about connecting every citizen by recognising that internet access is not a luxury, but a lifeline and a human right.
Here we untangle why Google’s experiment in high flying connectivity failed — and the strategies to connect every citizen that should demand our attention instead.
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We're always very keen and open and eager to see new technologies coming into the space, especially if they can address the issue of affordability. That's a big crisis for us.
I'm hoping that we move to a point where we begin to regulate access to the internet in quite the same way as we regulate electricity and water, so we operate with the belief that everyone has to have access.
Onica Makwakwa
Regional Coordinator for Africa, Alliance for Affordable Internet | via Slate
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By the numbers
37% — Globally, about 72% of households in urban areas had access to the internet at home in 2019. In rural areas, that number drops to 37%. (ITU)
4.5 — Across Africa, only 28% of households had access to the internet at home — 4.5 times as high as rural access (ITU)
10% — 10% of the world's unconnected population will not be reached by traditional operators (A4AI)
11,000 — Loon's balloon-based communications system could deliver 4G LTE coverage over an 11,000 square kilometer area — 200 times the reach of an average cell tower (Loon).
312 — A Loon system launched from Puerto Rico in May 2019 set the record for the company's longest flight duration when it landed in Mexico 312 days later (Loon)
1-2% — When Astro Teller, captain of moonshots at X, first heard the idea for Loon, he gave it a 1 or 2 percent chance of succeeding (WIRED)
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We absolutely need to experiment and innovate. People at Loon will take their knowledge and carry it elsewhere, in ways we can't even imagine yet.
Sonia Jorge
Executive Director, Alliance for Affordable Internet | via IEEE Spectrum
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Recommended reading
🌑 The problem with moonshots: Moonshot projects like Loon can help focus attention on the digital divide. But when viewed as the be-all and end-all of connectivity solutions, they may do more harm than good. ▸ Devex
❓ What went wrong: Alphabet's decision to shut down Loon offers a key lesson: the business model — and realistic profitability expectations — are as important as the technology itself. ▸ TechCabal
💲 The numbers game: Reports suggest that Loon was plagued by financial turbulence, burning as much as $100 million per year. ▸ The Information
🏛 What's a government to do: Over 1 billion people live in countries where mobile data is unaffordable. To make the internet affordable and accessible to all, we need increased investment, good policy and sustained political commitment. ▸ A4AI
🛠 Think small: The large-scale, commercial telecommunications network model alone is not enough to extend affordable access to everyone. Steve Song outlines the benefits of community connectivity initiatives. ▸ A4AI
🌍 Connect the world: The world spends roughly $430 billion on soda every year. If we invested the same amount over ten years, we could connect the world. ▸ A4AI
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We wanted Loon to be a beautiful solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem.
Astro Teller
Captain of Moonshots, X | via WIRED
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How to close the rural-urban digital divide
We must get everyone, everywhere connected as a matter of urgency. So it's more important than ever to focus on proven models for connecting rural populations.
The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), in partnership with APC, CIPESA, DEF and Facebook, developed the Rural Broadband Policy Framework (RBPF) to outline what policymakers can do to connect rural communities.
By harnessing market competition, streamlining regulatory processes, investing in public access, and stimulating demand for broadband services, policymakers can help close the rural-urban digital divide.
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