Facebook has provided more details about deploying drones to provide internet access to remote areas and developing countries. The company has designated 21 locations in Africa, Asia and South America where drones should provide the internet within two to five years.
There are still many hurdles to overcome before that, Jael Maguire, engineering director of Facebook’s Connectivity Lab, told Wired: “We will have to push the boundaries of solar technology, battery technology and materials technology.”
The drones will be as big as a commercial aircraft, for example a Boeing 747, but much lighter and they will fly at an altitude of 18 to 27 kilometers with the help of solar panels. “Above the weather and above the sky,” said Maguire. There are no rules for aircraft at that altitude. “The rules apply to satellites that we also invest in. They play a useful role, but we also have to explore new paths.”
One such path involves circumventing the rule that there must be at least one driver per drone. “We need a set of rules that is open to a single pilot operating maybe ten to a hundred drones,” Maguire said. His Connectivity Lab will start testing the drones next year.
Facebook wants to carry out the project with partners. The company created the Internet.org initiative to help developing countries. Google is working on similar projects and has acquired drone maker Titan Aerospace for this.