Facebook may soon use drones to provide affordable internet

Social media giant Facebook may soon acquire drone maker Titan Aerospace to provide affordable internet to areas of world where internet is still not accessible, according to leading tech website TechCrunch.

Titan Aerospace - Solara

Who is Titan Aerospace:

Titan Aerospace, makes solar powered near-orbital drones, which can fly for about five years non stop.

The drones could potentially have many uses, including weather monitoring, disaster recovery, Earth imaging, or communications, the company has said, but clearly Facebook would be interested in that latter part.

Facebook is planning to use such drones to provide internet connectivity to the areas which are still not connected to internet.  As seen in video, Solara 50 and 60 models can be launched during night using internal battery power and when sun rises , they store energy using solar panel on aircraft's surface and garner enough energy to ascent 20 Km above sea level where they can remain for five years without needing to land or refuel. Solara models weigh around 150 Kg and can carry a payload of 32 Kg.

Why Facebook may buy Titan Aerospace:

Rumors gets more strength as Facebook's chief Mark Zuckerberg is heading internet.org an initiative to make internet more affordable by building an ecosystem with cheaper smartphones, advanced data compression techniques and affordable internet connectivity with a goal of making internet in reach of next 5 billion people. It is believed that Facebok is planning a deal worth $60 million with Titan Aerospace.

Zuckerberg writes “There are huge barriers in developing countries to connecting and joining the knowledge economy. Internet.org brings together a global partnership that will work to overcome these challenges, including making internet access available to those who cannot currently afford it.” Zuckerberg has written his thoughts in a paper called “Is Connectivity A Human Right?"

As per reports this project may start from Africa and then company is expected to build around 11000 Solara 60 model, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drones).

Companies who are working on drones:

Tech companies are looking for non lethal use of drones for their ability to reach remote areas where setting up infrastructure otherwise would be more costlier.

Google: Facebook is not the first one to try out drones for technology, last year Google initiated similar project named Project Loon to provide internet to remote areas via high flying balloons.

Amazon: Amazon announced in December that it is experimenting with drones for express delivery of products to its customers. Service named PrimeAir is however in testing mode yet and may be available in coming years.