And that might apply both to the high end 1 Gbps end of the access business as well as the other end, where "just a little Internet access" could be really important."
Google's "Project Loon," for example, is testing prototype balloons as transmitting platforms, using unlicensed spectrum.
In the New Zealand tests, balloons float about 20 kilometers in the atmosphere, covering an area of about 40 kilometers on the surface.
The radios on the balloons use the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radio spectrum, which are generally unlicensed globally.< It appears that inter-balloon communications are being tested, not just uplinks and downlinks from discrete balloons.
One of the architectural principles is that the balloons will float with the prevailing high-altitude winds, requiring quite a lot of balloons to provide coverage that is stable over time. That is a "flaky" way to build a network, by conventional thinking. Transmitter locations essentially cannot be "controlled" in the traditional sense.
They are not anchored or steered (except within small altitude limits). But the balloons should be able to traverse east-west and west-east by catching prevailing winds, to some extent.
The idea is to create a "latitude-specific" fleet of balloons that essentially would orbit west to east in the southern hemisphere. Part of the reason is that most of the Internet unconnected live in the southern hemisphere.
Project Loon undoubtedly will trigger the expected sniggers of derision (“loons”), but it is the sort of “moon shot” that could radically change the availability of Internet access for millions to a billion people.
That is not to disparage the efforts of the ISPs who now supply most of the Internet access. But all providers will likely be forced to explore ways to supply vastly more bandwidth, while chopping operating and capital costs.
That is especially true in the global south, where the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month’s income.
That “requires looking at the problem of access from new angles,” Project Loon organizers say.
“We believe that it might actually be possible to build a ring of balloons ring of balloons , flying around the globe on the stratospheric winds, that provides Internet access to the earth below,” says Mike Cassidy, project lead.
Cassidy says access speeds “similar to today’s 3G networks or faster” have been obtained so far.
Building a usable network out of fleets of free floating balloons requires “complex algorithms and lots of computing power,” says Cassidy. But think about it: that’s what Google excels at.
Tracking and uplinks have to be somewhat dynamic. There may be a need for inter-balloon communications.
But the use of unlicensed spectrum and balloons two of the more-significant approaches to building Internet access networks. One of those key inputs is a matter of government intention and decision.
As proved to be true when the Wi-Fi spectrum was opened up for unlicensed use, sparking a huge wave of innovation, some of us would argue that opening up additional significant blocks of non-licensed spectrum likewise will enable new waves of disruptive innovation.
To be sure, that is why such calls will meet with opposition. The issue is whether at least some governments, some places around the world, must consider the creation of more unlicensed blocks of spectrum suitable for "access" to the Internet.
The Google experiments furthermore indicate the value of globally unlicensed bands that are harmonized to some extent.
Frequency-agile radios will help handle the different frequencies in discrete regions.
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