back to article FCC gives Google's broadband balloons 'experimental license' in Puerto Rico

Alphabet's Project Loon broadband balloons will be allowed to attempt broadband services in Puerto Rico, as the unincorporated United States territory continues to recover from hurricane damage. Project Loon uses balloons that reach around 65,000 feet above sea level, from where they beam LTE signals back to Earth. The …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Uh oh

    Have the residents been informed they are now part of an experiment that requires them to give up any form of privacy*? They won't care now (priorities etc), but can they wind the clock back after life has stabilised a bit or is Google's/Alphabet's "generosity" merely opportunism (again a page out of the Microsoft playbook)?

    * Unless a trusted 3rd party keeps an eye on Google, that is IMHO a fair assumption

    1. RyokuMas

      Re: Uh oh

      While I the only thing I trust Google to do is be dishonest, I can see a small amount of merit in this project, given the current environment...

      (Yep, this link has "anti-adblocker" measures on it, but they're easy to disable).

    2. Daggerchild Silver badge
      Unhappy

      Re: Uh oh

      Dude, seriously, Google are providing the link, not the traffic. That's run by (what's left of) the existing local telcos.

      What does it mean for a forum when fear, hatred and false accusation make the most popular posts?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Uh oh

        What does it mean for a forum when fear, hatred and false accusation make the most popular posts?

        I think it's called "reap what you sow". Don't forget, this is the outfit that told the world it should get over not having any privacy, and their actions so far have not served to mitigate the mistrust that engendered. They do no longer get the benefit of the doubt.

        1. Mike 16

          Re: Uh oh

          -- the outfit that told the world it should get over not having any privacy --

          IIRC, that was Sun (well, McNealy). But hey, if the web isn't good for revisionism, what is it good for?

          Probably several tech leaders have said similar, or at least had it attributed to them. Still waiting for Palantir to speak up, but suspect they won't. Just like the guys boasting most about their conquests are not really getting it, and vice versa.

          1. Anonymous Coward
        2. Daggerchild Silver badge

          Re: Uh oh

          "I think it's called 'reap what you sow'"

          That doesn't work when you're sowing it in their name.

          "Don't forget, this is the outfit that told the world it should get over not having any privacy"

          And that was a stupid comment by Schmidt IIRC, who I don't trust. But emotion and facts are different things, and Schmidt isn't Google, and what he says isn't what they do.

          Point at things Google *do* rather than are *accused* of doing, and I'll take you more seriously.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Uh oh

            Point at things Google *do* rather than are *accused* of doing, and I'll take you more seriously.

            Where do I begin? Maybe with their requirement to INSTALL something to prevent being tracked (as if that's believable) instead of responding to a browser's "Do Not Track" setting which they enthusiastically ignore? It's not hard, we switched to Piwik based statistics because that makes it much easier to comply with EU privacy laws.

            There's a bigger one I came across on Sunday (a classic "wait a minute .."), but I'm working with a number EU Data Protection agencies to validate this first.

    3. This post has been deleted by its author

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Call me old fashioned but should water, food and shelter not be the priority?

    1. Dave Pickles

      Yes, but making money from those after a disaster is generally frowned upon.

    2. Lars Silver badge
      Happy

      "water, food and shelter". Google is not yet in that business.

    3. Remy Redert

      Absolutely. But without effective communication, how do you determine where those are needed? And without communication, those in Puerto Rico have a hard time reaching friends and family outside of their immediate area, leading to a lot of uncertainty and stress. This seems like an excellent emergency measure for reestablishing a communications infrastructure after a disaster, prior to a permanent infrastructure being rebuilt.

      1. Anonymous Custard
        Headmaster

        Power?

        Also power at ground level. Whilst the bloons themselves might be solar powered, the kit on the ground probably isn't and last I heard there were still major problems with that part of the infrastructure.

        So having a nice signal for broadband/LTE etc is useful, having something available and powered to actually connect up to it is also rather a necessity there.

        1. HereIAmJH

          Re: Power?

          "Whilst the bloons themselves might be solar powered, the kit on the ground probably isn't and last I heard there were still major problems with that part of the infrastructure."

          It's easier to deploy charging stations than it is to rebuild tower infrastructure. You can recharge a cell phone from a solar panel or generator. Wireless companies are getting their stores back open for charging locations as well as allowing free phone calls through whatever capabilities they have. But you have to get there.

          To re-establish cell service they need to repair/rebuild towers and get power and possibly backhaul to them. They can fly in COWs and COLTs, but you need open roads to suitable sites to deploy them. Loon has the opportunity that they can fly to wherever they need to be and provide service for whatever infrastructure/device is there.

          If this works, the US Govt and cell companies should put policies in place so that Loons can be deployed within a day or two of a major disaster.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Power?

            Puerto Rico is no stranger to power grid interruptions. Many of the queues at fuel stations are of people seeking to keep portable generators operational.

        2. R 11

          Re: Power?

          Solar chargers for a cell phone are relatively cheap and available. As power rolls out, it's also easy to take a cell phone to where there is power and bring it back, fully charged (perhaps alongside a battery pack, good for a couple of recharges), to where there is not.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Last I heard,

        my MIL's generator is still operational, so she's been able to keep her insulin cold and her mobility scooter and cell phone charged so far. Unfortunately, cell service has been sporadic at best, and generally only usable when one of our many friends and relatives has taken her to other locations away from her home in the mountains outside San German in search of supplies and fuel. We hope their will be adequate communication for locating more insulin soon. It would be useful to be able to contact many of these other people, some of whom have lost their homes, as well.

        Like many readers here, I'm no fan of Google for its stranglehold on much of our data and privacy. But the thought of Loon balloons being deployed just now doesn't seem to raise my ire. At all.

    4. Anonymous Coward Silver badge
      Paris Hilton

      Priority? Yes

      That doesn't mean that you don't make any plans or arrangements for other things though, otherwise the country will be stuck in the middle ages for the foreseeable future.

      Communications makes a huge difference in the world - both from keeping people calm (knowing that relatives are alive and OK, etc) and from being able to request help that is specific to the current needs (eg: thanks for all the bricks for building shelters, but we really need some penicillin urgently)

  3. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    Okay, this is actually one of the two serious applications of Project Loon I can see: providing needed communications infrastructure after a natural disaster, etc. as a temporary patch.

    In case you are wondering, the other application is some serious American Flagg LARPing.

    1. Jeffrey Nonken

      Ok... I know who Reuben Flagg is, but I confess I don't get the connection. (...No pun intended.) Maybe I just need to dig then out and re-read them, it's been a while and I've forgotten most of the details. Also it should be "American Flagg!" with the exclamation.

      ...Unless you're talking about a different "American Flagg" that I don't know about in which case never mind.

      OTOH I think I'll dig out the comics and re-read them anyway because I like the series and haven't read it in a while. :)

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What could possibly go wrong ?

    Balloons up before the end of the hurricane season ... really ?

    Do those hurricane winds not reach 60,000 feet ?

    1. Peter2 Silver badge

      Re: What could possibly go wrong ?

      Probably not to any serious extent actually. At 60,000 feet ( > 11 miles up) your in the stratosphere and above about 80% of the atnosphere. Hurricane effects aren't enough to worry airliners at 30,000 feet too much, so at double that you ought to be pretty safe.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What could possibly go wrong ?

        @Peter2 ... thank you - I did Google a bit and saw some mention of 50,000 feet as the likely top end of hurricane winds, but I hadn't thought that airliners wouldn't worry at all about hurricanes (at cruise altitude) ...

        1. Peter2 Silver badge

          Re: What could possibly go wrong ?

          No worries.

          I wouldn't say they don't worry about it "at all", thereotically you could fly an airliner straight through the middle of a hurricane at low altitude but it'd structurally stress the airframe massively and thus reduce the number of allowed further flying hours quite considerably. (As well as dealing with the entire load of passangers screaming OMG we're going to DIE when dealing with very severe turbulance)

          At 30,000 feet i'd guess it'd be "please fasten your seatbelts". I guess most airlines would prefer to spend the fuel to climb to the service ceiling of ~40,000 feet to avoid the negative feedback on review websites. I'd guess that at 60,000 feet the turbulance would probably be pretty mild, but honestly i'm making educated guesses.

          1. Jeffrey Nonken

            Re: What could possibly go wrong ?

            ...Or try to fly around it.

  5. Nameless Faceless Computer User

    In 2012, BBH Labs outfitted 13 homeless volunteers and turned them into mobile hot spots.

    If you're looking for the punch line... sorry, can't think of one.

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