Google’s Project Loon

Unfortunately, Project Loon doesn’t have anything to do with Canada — yet. But there’s potential here for a great benefit to Canadians in rural areas, particularly in the far north.

Google, where people are paid to brainstorm and pursue ideas that are often “wacky,” has initiated a project to place a chain of balloons into “orbit” around the globe and to use them as a way of providing internet connectivity for people who would otherwise not be able to access the internet.

Of course, being balloons, these relay stations won’t actually be in orbit. They will be in the stratosphere, however, at the 20 kilometer region, well above commercial flights and where bands of winds move in a somewhat predictable pattern. The project has begun in New Zealand and hopes to expand in other countries in the latitudes around 40-45 degrees south. This video will give you a decent overview of what’s happening.