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Google Drops Over $1 Billion To Bring Internet To New Places

TMCnet Feature

June 02, 2014

Google Drops Over $1 Billion To Bring Internet To New Places

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By Steve Anderson
Contributing TMCnet Writer

For many, satellite Internet access is the access of last resort, the kind of option that users turn to when the only other option to get onto the Internet is dial-up access, or worse, none at all. But for Google (News - Alert), satellite Internet access is the access of the future for many places, and has put its collective money where its mouth is by planning to spend over $1 billion to bring in an entire fleet of satellites to better connect parts of the planet that currently can't.


The reports suggest that the overall details of the plan are still up in the air, at least somewhat, but at the same time suggest a general framework. The project is set to start with 180 small satellites orbiting the Earth, though at a lower altitude than common satellites are usually found. From there, however, the numbers could climb and give more access, and more bandwidth. Indeed, the reports suggest that the total price tag (News - Alert) on the project could clear $3 billion by the time it's all said and done, based on things like the total numbers of satellites involved and whether or not unexpected cost increases step in, a development that's been known to happen in terms of satellite ventures.

The idea of expanding Internet access outward has been front of mind for some time, particularly with Internet-driven companies like Google and Facebook. Google, of course, has had its Google Fiber project going for some time now, bringing absolutely staggering levels of access to the user base, but Google Fiber can't be everywhere. So the issue becomes one of how to get the most access to the most users, a point in which satellite access has a lot going for it. While wired connections like cable and fiber can really only be used in small geographic areas with large numbers of users, like cities—DSL does get some advantage here, but only some—that leaves a lot of area with a minimal capability to connect, places like Africa, large parts of Asia, the rural areas of the United States and so on.

But these places aren't lost on businesses like Google and Facebook (News - Alert). These places are the future; people who haven't yet tried YouTube or set up a Facebook profile or run a basic Google search are the people who need to get in on the action to help fuel continuous expansion. To that end, we've seen both Facebook and Google looking to get in on bringing Internet access to more places, whether via drone aircraft or via giant balloon, so as to get those users in play.

It can be difficult indeed to find high-speed Internet access, depending on where one lives. Sometimes there's only one provider. Sometimes there are more than one. Sometimes there's nothing at all, and those people are the ones to reach. While satellite may not do it in its current form—surely Google acknowledges the problem with offering up Internet access that can only provide sufficient bandwidth for a handful of YouTube (News - Alert) videos in a month—there's always the possibility of new technologies, new developments, that will help get users into the fold.

Only time will tell just how well this project works for Google, Facebook and the like, but it's clear that these companies need more users. The only way to get said users is to get the Internet to these underserved populations, and for the Internet companies to take such matters in hand is unprecedented, and a very big step indeed.




Edited by Maurice Nagle

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