Gadgetory

project loon is headed to Puerto Rico Google's parent company alphabet announced its Innovation Lab X would attempt to bring Internet service to the people of Puerto Rico via Project loon it's an experimental program that uses what looks like weather balloons to provide connectivity to rural locations and areas struck by disaster FCC chief of staff Matthew berry announced on Twitter the department had fast-tracked a license for X to use loon balloons in Puerto Rico eight carriers approved the X teams use of spectrum rights with the approval which should last up to six months as Puerto Rico recovers from the massive destruction from hurricanes Irma and Maria according to flightradar24 comm there's already at least one loon balloon floating above the island but there are still some major hurdles to cover before the people of Puerto Rico will see significant connectivity loon was used previously in Peru after an earthquake rocked the country but it was able to mobilize quickly because it had already been testing in the area with a local telecom carrier in this situation the loon team will be essentially starting from scratch so while there isn't a specific start date the FCC license approval and carrier spectrum agreement are two big steps forward we'll be keeping an eye on project loons progress in Puerto Rico stay tuned to see net calm for more I'm ashley Esqueda be good humans