Jan 22, 2021 13:04:00

'Project Loon' that delivers the Internet to the world with a balloon from Google is completely shut down

Google's brother

X has been developing since 2013, and announced that the balloon-based mobile communication system `` Project Loon '', which has been an independent business since 2018, will completely stop the project ..

Saying goodbye to Loon | Loon's journey is coming to an end… | by Alastair Westgarth | Loon Blog | Jan, 2021 | Medium | Loon Blog
https://medium.com/loon-for-all/loon-draft-c3fcebc11f3f

Loon's final flight. Loon's time as an Other Bet is coming… | by Astro Teller | Jan, 2021 | X, the moonshot factory
https://blog.x.company/loons-final-flight-e9d699123a96

Alphabet is shutting down Loon, its internet balloon company --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/21/22243484/alphabet-google-shutting-down-loon-internet-balloon-company-x

In order to provide Internet services to areas where there are many Internet connections in the world, Facebook is promoting the submarine cable layer design ' 2Africa ' and Amazon is promoting the 'Project Kuiper ' to deliver the Internet from artificial satellites.

Google also started Project Loon, which provides the Internet by balloon in 2013, and started the actual flight test in 2016. Trial commercial operation will begin in Kenya in 2020, with 35 balloons providing Wi-Fi over 50,000 square kilometers. According to Google's announcement, in the test conducted in June, the downlink speed was 18.9 Mbps, the uplink speed was 4.74 Mbps, the delay was 19 milliseconds, and in addition to email, voice and video calls, browsing, YouTube viewing, etc. could be done without problems. It is said that.

'Project Loon', which provides an Internet environment from balloons flying in the stratosphere, begins commercial development in the mountainous areas of Kenya --GIGAZINE

It was also announced in October 2020 that it had succeeded in a record 312 consecutive days of flight.

'Loon', a balloon-flying project that provides an internet environment everywhere, sets a new record in 312 days of continuous flight --GIGAZINE

And in December 2020, it was also announced that the project made great strides with the development of AI using reinforcement learning. Balloons are easily affected by the environment such as wind and temperature, and there was a problem in providing a stable internet connection, but reinforcement learning enables stable autonomous flight and achieves a flight record of '312 consecutive days'. Was made.

What is the reason for the big leap in the 'Loon' project from Google, which provides the Internet with hot air balloons all over the world? --GIGAZINE

Loon seemed to be developing smoothly, but on January 22, 2021, Alastair Westgarth, the representative of Loon, published an article entitled 'Saying goodbye to Loon'. He explained that the project was suspended because 'we couldn't realize the low cost of building a long-term and sustainable business.'

Astro Teller, who leads X, also published an article on the same day called 'Loon's final flight'. 'The road to commercialization has proven to be longer and more risky than required. Over the next few months we will shut down and Loon will no longer be one of Alphabet's bets,' Teller said. Said.

According to Teller, employees working on Loon's project will be assigned to another project within X, Google, and Alphabet. The service in Kenya that has already started will be provided until March 2021, but since the Internet connection will be lost after that, Loon is a company or non-profit organization that supports the Internet, entrepreneurship, education, etc. in Kenya. Promises to provide 10 million dollars (about 1 billion yen) to.