Loon, an Internet service provider that uses balloons to connect people, has started providing service in Kenya to subscribers of Telkom Kenya.
Writing in Medium, chief executive Alastair Westgarth said this was the 1st in many ways: the first non-emergency use of Loon to provide connectivity on a large-scale basis, the 1st application of balloon-powered Internet in Africa, & also the 1st of what will be many commercial deployments around the world
In Kenya, the service region for now covers almost 50,000 square kilometers across the western & central parts of the country. A fleet of around 35 or more “separate flight vehicles” are used for this; & they are in constant motion in the stratosphere above eastern Africa.
Since Loom began early tests, it has connected over 35,000 unique users, delivering OTT voice & video calling, streaming, Web connectivity, plus more.
Loon is often referred to as “a floating network of cell towers”.
According to the CEO, the current ecosystem consists of just 2 basic layers of connectivity. One layer is ground-based (cell phone towers, fiber optic cables, and microwave links), while the other layer is space-based (satellites). “This dual-layered connectivity ecosystem has revolutionized the way we live, but not for everyone”, he said.
Loon is building a 3rd layer to Earth’s connectivity ecosystem in the stratosphere. From there, it will leverage the strengths of both existing layers — the lower latency of a connection from the ground & the expanded coverage area of a connection from space — to connect more people, places & things worldwide.
Image credit: Loon
