Facebook is now in the drone business

[SmittyShmee]

Src: http://www.theverge.com/a/mark-zuckerberg-future-of-facebook/aquila-drone-internet

 

Facebook has successfully launched its first drone aircraft that they one day hope will be a solar-powered internet provider for people on the edges of cities or in more rural areas.

 

Quote

It’s a linchpin of the company’s plan to bring the internet to all 7 billion people on Earth, regardless of their income or where they live. Doing so will lift millions of people out of poverty, Zuckerberg says, improving education and health globally along the way.

 

TL;DR:

• Facebook is actively trying to build an internet-providing plane
  • by allowing access to those that don't have internet access, Facebook can increase its user count
• The drones (in theory) could fly for 90 days at a time.
  • The test flight was 90 minutes (originally estimated to be 30 minutes).
• Current drone has a wingspan of 141 feet, and weighs 900 lbs.
  • It is currently powered by batteries only.
  • Future iterations will add solar panels and better batteries.
• Internet access will be provided by laser communication in the "tens of gigabytes per second" range.
  • The drone could communicate with base stations providing service for up to 50 km.

 

You may remember Facebook announcing something like this before with the intent to launch internet to places like India but was shot down for net neutrality reasons.

Quote

Zuckerberg says the company has learned from its failure in India — one he hopes is temporary. “We’ve learned a lot about how we need to interact with with governments and the political system and regulators, and build support in order to have these things work. And I think we’ll take those lessons forward,” he said. Solar-powered planes will raise additional regulatory issues, he says. “But when I meet world leaders, a lot folks are really excited about this, because you want your people to be online, and you want more opportunities. And connectivity is one of the biggest ways that people get access to opportunities.”

 

My 2c:

• I still think remote internet access is a fantastic thing. Im glad that Facebook (at least implies) the internet wouldn't be a locked down... but we'll see what actually happens.
• The thought of unmanned drones randomly falling out of the sky still scares me.

[AlTech]

But it's facebook and they do shady business practices.

 

And if you choose to live in an area with bad internet then you've only got yourself to blame.

[SmittyShmee]

Just now, AluminiumTech said:

But it's facebook and they do shady business practices.

 

And if you choose to live in an area with bad internet then you've only got yourself to blame.

I wont disagree with the shady business bit.

 

re: your second comment. If you were born/raised/live in a developing nation that has no internet, thats not necessarily your fault. The intent is to deliver these drones to those people.

[Clanscorpia]

28 minutes ago, SmittyShmee said:

 

• The thought of unmanned drones randomly falling out of the sky still scares me.

 

Falling from 9 x 10^4 feet would take quite a bit of time, a few minutes at least. They could be destroyed or righted in that time

[SansVarnic]

Not for this.

Anything with Facebook's name on it is Bad.

[Bleedingyamato]

12 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

But it's facebook and they do shady business practices.

 

And if you choose to live in an area with bad internet then you've only got yourself to blame.

Not everyone wants to live in a crowded city.  I'm not one of those people but I can understand that some people enjoy a more rural life.  There's no excuse for why they don't deserve decent internet at a fair price.  

[SurvivorNVL]

Shoot them down. :^)

[ShadowCaptain]

15 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

And if you choose to live in an area with bad internet then you've only got yourself to blame.

What?

 

If you were born in a poor country its not entirely your fault

[Bouzoo]

15 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

And if you choose to live in an area with bad internet then you've only got yourself to blame.

There are many people that can't afford to move just because internet. I mean it's not like you can blame the ISP right? It's not like they don't want to provide better internet in some locations.