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Google’s parent company Alphabet said it would close down Loon; the moonshot project it launched in 2011. Loon sought to use high-flying balloons to provide internet access in places where conventional infrastructure for web connectivity was not feasible.
Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth said failure to bring down ‘costs low enough to build a long-term, sustainable business’ led to the project’s winding up.
What Is Loon?
Loon was born out of the dire need to take the internet to the ‘next billion’ users. The idea was to level the playing field for underserved communities by hooking them to the internet to catch up with the rest of the world.
A series of experts working on affordable internet access and other technology for development efforts spoke out against Loon, posts on Twitter that it “sucked in the air“From discussions about affordable access and derived from”more realistic approachesTowards connectivity.
Google parent Alphabet shuts down Loon, its internet radiant balloon project https://t.co/yPB31X8mWs
Just to be clear, I’m the kind of person who says I told you.
Through Twitter.
According to John Garrity, an independent advisor to public and private sector organizations working on digital inclusion, organizations working to connect disconnected people can find a better balance between investing in existing approaches and considering new technologies.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced late last week that it would shut down Loon, a project that used helium balloons to beam internet access to remote areas from the stratosphere. Founded in 2011, Loon was one of the most hyped endeavors of X, Alphabet’s incubator for lofty “moonshot” technologies. But shaky finances paired with a growing expectation within Alphabet that these moonshots actually figure out a way to make money ultimately sank the venture. “While we’ve found a number of willing partners along the way,” wrote Loon’s chief executive Alastair Westgarth in a blog post announcing the closure. “We haven’t found a way to get the costs low enough to build a long-term, sustainable business.” Or, in deflating-balloon terms: