Google’s Project Loon has gotten a major boost in India as the government has agreed to the program in-principle, pending approval from all agencies. If carried forward, the tech behemoth will join hands with state-owned BSNL to beam out internet signals via balloons.
Google CEO Sunder Pichai confirmed the development during the Google For India event taking place in New Delhi. He said Project Loon will help people residing in hard-to-reach rural areas have access to the internet. He’s hopeful it will act as a backbone for going online and is planning to partner with various telecom operators to provide the network.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had expressed his reservations concerning Project Loon just a week ago. He believes the frequency band which it wants to utilize is currently being used for mobile broadcasting in India. If Google shares the network, it could lead to interference in cellular transmissions.
As per PTI, Prasad has now agreed to let Project Loon move forward in-principle. He has asked Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg to get in touch with the defense and security departments to speed up the process. In particular, the minister says there are certain issues of security and harmony which have to be cleared up with the Department of Civil Aviation.
Also See: India raises objections to Google’s Project Loon
Google Vice-President (Access Strategy and Emerging Markets) Marian Croak claims the brand is planning to begin testing for Project Loon in India as soon as possible. The initiative has already been successfully tested in New Zealand, Brazil and the US. It has the potential to replace mobile towers in the future as it is capable of directly beaming out signals using the 4G LTE network.
Google uses solar and wind energy to power the balloons which are used for Project Loon. Each can supposedly provide connectivity to an area measuring 40km in diameter.