Google wants to provide remote lands with Internet access from drones

Google is testing out solar-powered UAVs that provide Internet access to remote areas.

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With Google's recent acquisition of Titan Aerospace, many have wondered what it would do in our skies - well, now we have somewhat of an idea what the Mountain View-based giant will do. Google has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to take to the skies with experimental drones that would provide Internet access to remote areas.

Google wants to provide remote lands with Internet access from drones | TweakTown.com

Google wrote to the FCC on Friday, asking it to keep most of the testing details under wraps, but it did write: "Google recently acquired Titan Aerospace, a firm that specializes in developing solar and electric unmanned aerial systems ('UAS') for high altitude, long endurance flights. These systems may eventually be used to provide Internet connections in remote areas or help monitor environmental damage, such as oil spills or deforestation. The STA [Special Temporary Authority] is needed for demonstration and testing of [REDACTED] in a carefully controlled environment".

Starting on October 6, 2014, Google wants to start testing out its drones for 180 days. We should see the site of these tests "in a square east of Albuquerque and south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, centered roughly on the unincorporated community of Stanley", according to consulting engineer Steven Crowley. Google will transmit at frequencies between 910MHz and 927MHz, and from 2.4GHz to 2.414GHz. What will Google be transmitting at those frequencies? No one knows, as this information was redacted from the document, with the company refusing to comment on its application.

Google told the FCC that it will be able to avoid interfering with other users within the spectrum, with Crowley writing that the 2.4GHz spectrum "overlap[s] the lower channels of Wi-Fi".

NEWS SOURCE:arstechnica.com

Anthony joined the TweakTown team in 2010 and has since reviewed 100s of graphics cards. Anthony is a long time PC enthusiast with a passion of hate for games built around consoles. FPS gaming since the pre-Quake days, where you were insulted if you used a mouse to aim, he has been addicted to gaming and hardware ever since. Working in IT retail for 10 years gave him great experience with custom-built PCs. His addiction to GPU tech is unwavering and has recently taken a keen interest in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.

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