Google launched Project Loon five years ago in its quest to deliver Internet access to underserved areas of the globe. Now a standalone subsidiary of Alphabet, Loon announced a major breakthrough this week. They managed to transmit data over 1000 kilometers (620 miles). That’s ten times farther than Loon’s previous best, although it’s worth noting […]
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7 Comments on High-speed internet delivered by lasers coming to rural India (thanks to Alphabet’s Project Loon)
High-speed internet delivered by lasers coming to rural India (thanks to Alphabet’s Project Loon)
7 Comments on High-speed internet delivered by lasers coming to rural India (thanks to Alphabet’s Project Loon)Alphabet’s Project Loon technology uses hot air balloons to deliver internet access to places where it might not otherwise be available, including rural communities or hurricane-damaged Peurto Rico. But Alphabet is working with Indian internet service provider AP State FiberNet to deliver high-speed internet service to millions of customers in India’s Andhra Pradesh state without […]
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Microsoft to bring internet to rural areas through unused TV signals
Plenty of companies have come up with interesting ways to help bridge the digital divide by delivering internet access to areas that aren’t well served by wired or cellular networks. Google is trying balloons. Facebook is trying drones (something that Google has already tried and abandoned). Now Microsoft has another idea: TV signals. The New York […]
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AT&T’s Project AirGig could deliver multi-gigabit wireless internet using power lines
Comments Off on AT&T’s Project AirGig could deliver multi-gigabit wireless internet using power linesAT&T already delivers wireless service to millions of phone users in the United States, but the company’s new Project AirGig is a system for delivering much faster wireless internet speeds, and theoretically the system wouldn’t require a heavy investment in infrastructure, because it could leverage existing power lines. Project AirGig doesn’t actually deliver internet access […]
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Samsung launches a web browser for Gear VR virtual reality headset
Slap a Samsung phone in the company’s Gear VR headset and you’ve got yourself a virtual reality device for playing games, watching movies, or exploring virtual environments. But what if you want to do something a little more mundane… like web surfing. You could take off the headset and start using your phone the old fashioned […]
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Got a Skype phone number? You rates might be going up (updated)
Skype offers customers an optional Skype Number which links your account to a phone number. When people call that number, your Skype app will ring. And there’s an optional feature that allows your Skype number to show in caller ID when you’re calling a phone number from Skype. Now it looks like a price hike […]
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Netflix website gets its first makeover in 4 years
Netflix is rolling out a website redesign today, making the streaming video service’s web site look a lot more like the company’s apps for smartphones, tablets, and smart TV devices. According to Netflix, this is the first major update to the website in four years, and it’s both faster and designed to make it easier […]
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Comcast bringing 2Gbps Internet service across the US starting next month
Comcast has announced it will begin rolling out 2 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) broadband service across the U.S. starting with a launch in the Atlanta market next month. Comcast calls the speedy internet service Gigabit Pro and it’ll be available to any home with close proximity to the company’s fiber network — but it will require special equipment and […]
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Lilbits (7-16-2014): Amazon Prime video for Android imminent?
Want to watch Amazon Instant Video on your smartphone or tablet? Then you’d better have a Kindle Fire, a Fire Phone, or an iOS device: there’s no Amazon Instant Video or Prime Video app available for Android or other platforms… yet. But PC Advisor reports that at least in the UK, an Android app is […]
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Google to test its balloon-powered internet network in California (Project Loon)
Google’s latest crazy idea to change the world involves using balloons to blanket hard-to-reach areas with internet access. It’s called Project Loon, and in June the company announced it had already been running a limited test in New Zealand. Now it looks like Google is ready to expand that test — and this time it’s […]