High Tech Communications Services Inc., MilkyWay Communications LLC, North Sight Communications Inc., PDV Spectrum Holding Company, LLC, Space Data Spectrum Holdings, LLC, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority/PREPA Networks LLC, Sensus Spectrum LLC, and Spok, Inc.
The Loon team is trying to manage expectations and said the experimental service is created to support basic internet communications activities like text messaging, SMS, status updates, basic web access and email during daylight hours.
Ars Technica reported on the ninth that "The Alphabet division that's building a balloon-powered Internet service has obtained an experimental license "to help provide emergency cellular service in Puerto Rico", the Federal Communications Commission announced last Saturday".
The "limited internet connectivity" begins today, with Project Loon supporting "basic communication and internet activities" for AT&T customers in Puerto Rico.
It marks the first time the X project within Google parent Alphabet has used its new machine learning-powered algorithms to keep balloons clustered over Puerto Rico, and it's still a learning process, according to a blog post by Alastair Westgarth, head of Project Loon. The company said on Friday it does not expect to use that many since each balloon can provide internet service to an area of roughly 5,000 square kilometres, or 1,930 square miles.
The destruction of Puerto Rico knocked out communications across the island, and it presented a unique scenario for Project Loon to deploy its balloons.
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The company is sending solar-powered stratospheric balloons to bring connectivity to residents of the island. This is the second time that Project Loon has been used to connect people after a disaster.
"We are working with AT&T to activate cellular service for iPhone users in Puerto Rico as the island recovers from Hurricane Maria".
While Project Loon is still an experimental technology and they are not quite sure how well it will work, they hope this can be of some help to the people of Puerto Rico at this time.
Alphabet has previously deployed "Loon" to provide emergency phone service in Peru following flooding there earlier this year.
Drifting 20 km up in the stratosphere, Loon balloons have the potential to extend connectivity to where it's needed, regardless of what's happening below. It sent five planes and almost 40 ships containing network supplies, equipment, vehicles and personnel to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and it's continuing to send more assets as needed.
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