Facebook has just revealed its plan to bring internet access to some of the most remote parts of the world. Last week, the social media giant unveiled the 'Aquila' an unmanned aerial drone that can beam down internet through advanced laser technology.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg further detailed some of the features of the new aircraft in a video posted on his official profile page. Here's what he had to say:
Aquila is a solar powered unmanned plane that beams down internet connectivity from the sky. It has the wingspan of a Boeing 737, but weighs less than a car and can stay in the air for months at a time.
We've also made a breakthrough in laser communications technology. We've successfully tested a new laser that can transmit data at 10 gigabits per second. That's ten times faster than any previous system, and it can accurately connect with a point the size of a dime from more than 10 miles away.
The Aquila is the latest part of Facebook's Internet.org initiative, which aims to bring the web to people in developing parts of the world. The company has previously released products such as a lite version of their mobile facebook app and offered facebook access for free through parnterships with local mobile carriers. In his post Zuckerberg says:
This effort is important because 10% of the world's population lives in areas without existing internet infrastructure. To affordably connect everyone, we need to build completely new technologies.
According to tech blog re/code, the Aquila will soon take flight sometime this year:
The plane isn't just an idea or a mockup. An actual version of the plane was built in the United Kingdom and Facebook plans to test it, probably somewhere in the United States, later this year, according to Facebook's VP of Engineering Jay Parikh.
