Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, will be providing the Andhra Pradesh Government with high speed wireless internet technology. Alphabet’s X research division announced on Thursday, the AP government will be buying newly developed technology to provide internet to millions of people without laying any cables.
According to the agreement, 2,000 boxes will be installed as far as 20 kilometers apart, on posts and rooftops to bring fast internet to connect populated areas. While the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, the deal will begin sometime next year. The agreement is an extension of X’s Project Loon, which has beamed cellphone service to Earth from a network of large balloons.
Instead of balloons, however, the company will be using laser beaming boxes which rely on Free Space Optical Communications (FSOC) tech. Speaking about the latest tech X’s Baris Erkman said, “(FSOC is ) Just like fiber optic cable, but without the cable.” This collaboration aims at creating a new backbone to supply service to cellphone towers, Wi-Fi hotspots and endpoints that users would be able to access. According to X, FSOC will transmit data through light beams at a speed up to 20 gigabits per second, thereby creating a bandwidth for thousands of people to browse the Web simultaneously through the same cell phone tower.
According to a news daily, out of the 53 million citizens of Andhra Pradesh, only 20% of the populace have access to the Internet. The State Government of AP has pledged to connect 12 million households as part of their AP Fiber Grid program. To help with the roll out next year, a small X team will be based in Andhra Pradesh.
Previously, Alphabet has used X’s balloon technology to deliver high speed internet to 100,000 internet starved users in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Along with Alphabet’s X, Facebook is also working in developing its Internet serving program.