Remote parts of Kenya are receiving internet access thanks to giant plastic balloons. Google’s Project Loon and Telkom Kenya are behind the project, and they say it’s the first balloon-powered internet to launch in Africa, and the first non-emergency commercial deployment in the world. The project will use a fleet of 35 or more balloons floating in constant in the stratosphere, to provide 4G LTE service spanning large parts of central and western Kenya. Each balloon is made out of a roughly tennis-court-sized piece of polyethylene sheets. The project was accelerated because of the pandemic, and the need to stay connected to jobs, communities in the stratosphere, to provide 4G LTE service spanning large parts of central and western Kenya. Each balloon is made out of a roughly tennis-court-sized piece of polyethylene sheets. The project was accelerated because of the pandemic, and the need to stay connected to jobs, communities and emergency services.
A bright idea
