Balloon Internet

          It’s easy to take for granted here in the developed world, but there’s currently about 4 billion people on this planet who don’t have access to the Internet. That’s well over half the globe. Bringing those remaining people online will undoubtedly have an enormous impact on the world — but making that happen is easier said than done. Internet access requires infrastructure that’s difficult to build in developing countries, so it can take years to bring it to underdeveloped parts of the world.
Thankfully, Google has developed a clever workaround. Instead of spending millions to install fiber optic lines underground, the search giant is bringing cheap wireless Internet to remote regions of the world via a network of high-altitude balloons.
       Google has been working on this project (dubbed Project Loon) for the past few years, but it managed to get the first installations up and running in 2015, starting off in places like Sri Lanka and India. And there’s more on the way for 2016 — a lot more.
       Google has plans to deploy Loon networks over dozens of other locations in the next few years, and as this project brings more of the globe online, it will have a ripple affect on the rest of the globe.
New markets will open up, new goods and services will find their way into the global marketplace, and the world will be more connected than ever before.