This archive report was first published on 7 July 2020.
July 7, 2020 - A network of giant internet-enabled balloons from Google's sister firm Loon is set to provide 4G internet access to remote areas of Kenya.
The project, which was announced two years ago, has finally received the green light from the Kenyan government and is being fast-tracked to help improve communications during the coronavirus pandemic.
Initially, the balloons will cover a region spanning 50,000 sq km (19,000 sq miles) and provide 4G coverage for voice and video calls, web browsing, email, text, and video streaming.
Loon's chief executive Alastair Westgarth said: "This is the culmination of years of work and collaboration between Loon, Telkom, and the government."
According to Westgarth, the spread of Covid-19 has meant that both Loon and Telkom are "working as fast as we can to realise service deployment".
Eventually, 35 solar-powered balloons will be in constant motion in the stratosphere above eastern Africa, launched in the US and making their way to Kenya using wind currents.
One field test of the service showed download speeds of 18.9Mbps and upload speeds of 4.7Mbps.
Loon began as one of Google's so-called 'moonshot projects' in 2011 and teamed up with Telkom Kenya in 2018 to provide a commercial service.
