New Delhi: Governor of the Republic of Florida, Ron Desantis, called this week in the administration of US President Joe Biden for Greenlight, plans to transmit the internet to people in Cuba through high altitude balloons when their government has blocked access.
Can the internet be sent by a balloon? Yes.
Over the years, alphabet, Google’s parent company, works to perfect the service of the internet balloon division called LOons.
It turned off the project in January, said it was not commercially feasible.
Before shutdown, Loon balloons have provided services in the mountainous areas in Kenya through partnerships with local telecommunications, Kenyan Telkom.
The service also helps provide wireless communication in Puerto Rico after Mary Hurricane, which destroys the island cellular network.
LOons partner with AT & T to provide services.
How does it work? Loon balloons effectively tennis size cell tower.
They drift 60,000 to 75,000 feet, or 11 to 14 miles (18,000 – 23,000 meters, or 18-22 kilometers), on the earth, far above the commercial jetliner route.
Made from ordinary plastic polyethylene, balloons use solar panels for electricity and can provide services to smartphones in partnership with local telecommunications.
Each balloon can serve thousands of people, said the company.
But they must be replaced every five months or more because of the hard conditions in the stratosphere.
And balloons can be difficult to control.
“Navigating balloons through stratosphere is always difficult,” Salvatore Candido wrote, which is the Chief Technology Officer for Loon, in a blog post December 2020.
The company creates an algorithm that tracks the pattern of wind.
What equipment is needed? Loon says that outside the balloon itself, needs network integration with telecommunications to provide services and several equipment on the ground.
It is also needed permission from the local regulator, something that cannot be given by the Cuban government.
Can the network be arranged from afar? Yes.
Loon uses several balloons to extend the connection outside the land link needed.
In one 2018 test, Loon said the connection jumped 1,000 kilometers, or around 620 miles, more than 7 balloons.
Another time, it bridges a wireless connection of more than 600 kilometers, or around 370 miles, between two balloons.
Cuba and Florida are only about 100 miles (160 kilometers) separately at the closest.
Is it worth it? But experts are not sure it will be easy to arrange guerrilla internet services for Cuba in this way.
This will require a spectrum ribbon that is not used, or radio frequency, to send connections to Cuba, and the use of spectrum is usually controlled by the national government.
Whoever tries this must find a free spectrum block that will not be disturbed, said Jacob Sifeony, from Mobius Consulting, a cellular consulting company and wireless.
Balloon-powered networks or drones cannot be economical in the long run, said the Farrar of TMF Associates, a satellite communication consultant.
Even though they are suitable for bridging communication in the midst of disasters or in the war zone, the network transmission ability is not large, “of course not enough to serve the entire Cuba population or Farrar said.
Another challenge: The Cuban government can also try to spur signals.
Who is involved In Cuban’s efforts? Felipe.
Felipe said he had spoken for about two years with defense contractors who could spread balloons like that in a cost-effective way in the airspace near Cuba, but refused to mention the company.
Felipe said the idea would involve the transmission of direct internet connectivity To cellphones on the island without the participation of the land provider.
In comments to the Associated Press, Felipe claimed it would not be feasible for the Cuban government to block this balloon signal “in a significant way,” even though he did not quote evidence.
None of the supporters gave a cost estimate .
Salazar said that if the government Federal supports the plan, he believes it can be fully funded with the contribution of the members of the Cuba Diaspora if necessary.
What is internet access in Cuba? Internet access in Cuba has been expensive and relatively rare to date.
Starting December 2018, Cuba can get internet access on their cellphones through state telecommunications monopoly.
More than half of the Cuban today has internet access.
But the Cuban government limits independent media and what sensors are available to Cuba online, according to Human Rights Watch.
This disrupts internet access in an effort to lead protests.