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Millions of Indonesians will gain access to the Internet if Alphabet ( GOOGL ) can follow through with plans to put large balloons high in the sky as part of its Project Loon program. Like Alphabet, Facebook ( FB ) is also working on plans to bring Internet services to large swaths of people in places where it’s hard to connect fiber-optic cable. Instead of balloons, Facebook is experimenting with large drones flying at high altitudes. Neither project is expected to easily fly over friendly skies. Alphabet’s Project Loon has faced opposition from Indonesia’s largest telecom company while Facebook’s Free Basics plan, which currently provides free Internet service in India, was thwarted by Indian regulators. Project Loon was first announced by Google about four years ago. The idea is to put a network of balloons traveling near the edge of space, designed to provide Internet coverage for people in rural and remote areas. Google has tested the concept with test flights across jungles, mountains and plains. It started with a trial of about 30 balloons over New Zealand. Trials also have been held over Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Brazil, France and elsewhere. The first commercial implementation is set for later this year over Indonesia. Agreements are in place with three mobile network operators, Indosat, Telkomsel and XL Axiata, as partners for the service. Telekomunikasi Indonesia, the largest telecommunication services company in Indonesia, in comments last October said the plan could harm local telecommunications providers. Alphabet has said it would work with Indonesian companies to develop a business model that works with the country’s law. About 2 in 3 of Indonesia’s 250 million residents do not have Internet access, Alphabet says. That’s largely because stringing fiber networks or installing mobile phone towers across the more than 17,000 islands that make up Indonesia is a significant challenge. Through balloon-to-balloon communication, Project Loon can receive and transmit wireless signals to even the most remote islands. The balloons are about 50 feet in diameter and soar at an altitude about twice that of other aircraft. Electronic gear and solar panels hanging with the balloons include an altitude control system. The balloons can then be programmed to rise or fall in order to catch stratospheric winds that can position the balloons at the right locations. Facebook, through its Free Basics service, provides free but limited Internet service on mobile devices. The service is available to about 1 billion people across Asia, Africa and Latin America, designed to “bring more people online and help improve their lives,” Facebook says. It’s part of Facebook’s Internet.org initiative that has provided Internet access to 19 million people in 38 countries. Last week, India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority ruled against differential pricing for Internet service, thwarting the idea for Facebook’s Free Basics and other similar services. Entrepreneurs in India had criticized the service, saying it positioned Facebook as a gatekeeper to the Web and that they feared being left at a competitive disadvantage. Scalper1 News
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