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Google Set To Fly Internet Balloons Over Puerto Rico To Restore Phone Service

Google Set To Fly Internet Balloons Over Puerto Rico To Restore Phone Service

The balloons will provide much needed mobile reception.

James Dawson

James Dawson

Google is stepping into the crisis in Puerto Rico to help out with some cutting edge technology that will provide emergency phone reception.

Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc, started Project Loon, which was designed to give internet connectivity to people in rural places and is now being used for disaster relief.

The giant balloons, which look like jellyfish, are actually solar-powered internet-transmitting balloons, filled with lighter than air gas. They are sent high into the stratosphere, to the edge of space, where they float twice as high as airplanes, sailing with the wind currents in small groups.

Credit: PA

When the balloons are floating in the air above the correct spot, ground stations send signals up to the balloon and the balloon sends signal down to the ground so people with a mobile phone can connect to the internet.

Alphabet Inc has just been given permission to float 30 balloons over US territory Puerto Rico, providing them with much needed mobile reception and internet.

Puerto Rico is still reeling from the devastation from Hurricane Maria, which has left billions of dollars worth of damage in its wake, flooded the country and destroyed a lot of the buildings.

It was the strongest hurricane to hit the US in over a century and the 155mph winds left Puerto Rico entirely without power. It was only days after Hurricane Irma, another devastating hurricane, had hit the US.

Credit: PA

The island has 3.5 million people, who are displaced and relying on emergency services. Even weeks later, only 10 percent of the island has power after thousands of phone towers were destroyed in the storm.

Google isn't the only tech giant extending a helping hand to Puerto Rico. Billionaire Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, has approached Puerto Rico about restoring the island's shattered electrical infrastructure using solar energy technology.

Tesla's Powerwall renewable energy tech powers smaller islands and its thought that it could be scaled up for Puerto Rico. Musk is in talks with Ricadro Rossello, the island's governor, about what could be done.

Credit: PA

Weeks ago Tesla sent hundreds of batteries that store power made by solar panels to the islands, and they are currently making more for Puerto Rico. In the meantime, Musk is sending some of his team, and training locals as fast as possible.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Google, World News