Published in El Pais, 6 March 2018
A few months ago, I wrote about Google’s project loon, a social venture project that hopes to provide internet as fast as 10mbs to remote regions of the world where providing internet is currently not economically viable. It is still in its developing stages but recent success providing internet to 100,000 Puerto Ricans after the devastation of Hurricane Maria proves they are well on their way and I wish them luck in achieving their goal. Google of course is not the only company trying to achieve this noble feat however as Elon Musk recently threw his hat into the ring with his new project called the Starlink initiative.
As he recently laid out, Musk hopes to have thousands of satellites operating in low orbit to beam internet down to the population of the globe. What makes this internet different from the one being developed by Google is the speed. Theoretically this internet would be comparable to some of the fastest speeds currently being offered today meaning the developing world would be on par with the rest of the world with internet access.
This would of course be fantastic and could create a golden age of information, but there are concerns regarding its affordability. Sending one satellite into space is a very costly project and with each one having a similar mass of a car (no that analogy is not lost on me) the project is expected to cost anywhere between 10 to 15 billion dollars. This has led many to believe that most will be unable to afford this service once it is up and running especially those that are living in rural areas, its key target market.
It would be nice if this works out but even if it does not simply by making this announcement Musk has done a great service to people who have yet to experience the wonders of the internet, it has brought the issue back into the spotlight. Whatever your opinion of Musk you cannot deny he knows how to put on a show. His rocket launches continue to make headlines, interest in putting a man on Mars has never been higher and everyone marveled at the photos of his red Tesla in space with the Earth in the background.
The plan is to have Starlink up in running in 4 years so only time will tell if he succeeds or not, but one thing I think is clear, the goal of getting internet access to the other half of the population is within our reach and the media attention will only speed things up.
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