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Miami (CBS Miami / AP)
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis called on President Biden’s administration this week to unveil plans to send the Internet to Cubans via high-altitude balloons when the government blocks access.
Can the internet be delivered by balloon?
Okay. For years, Google’s parent company Alphabet has been working on the completion of an Internet balloon division service called Loon. It shut down the project in January, saying it wasn’t commercially viable.
Prior to the shutdown, Loon Balloon served in the mountains of Kenya through a partnership with local telecommunications company Telkom Kenya. The service also helped provide wireless communications in Puerto Rico under the influence of Hurricane Maria, which destroyed the island’s mobile network. Loon has partnered with AT & T to make the service available.
How does it work?
The rune’s balloon was effectively a cell tower about the size of a tennis court. They floated 60,000-75,000 feet, or 11-14 miles (18,000-23,000 meters, or 18-22 kilometers), far above commercial jet airliner routes. The balloon was made of mundane plastic polyethylene, used solar panels for electricity, and was able to partner with a local telecommunications company to serve smartphones.
According to the company, each balloon can serve thousands of people. However, due to the harsh conditions of the stratosphere, it had to be replaced every five months. And the balloon can be difficult to control. “Navigating balloons in the stratosphere has always been difficult,” Roon’s chief technology officer, Salvatore Candido, wrote in a December 2020 blog post. The company has created an algorithm to track wind patterns.
What kind of equipment did you need?
Mr. Rune said that beyond the balloon itself, network integration with telecommunications is needed to provide services and some equipment on the ground in the region. It also required permission from local regulators. This is unlikely to be approved by the Cuban government.
Can you build a network from a distance?
Okay. Loon used multiple balloons to extend the connection beyond the required ground link. In one test in 2018, Loon said the connection jumped 1,000 kilometers, or about 620 miles, over seven balloons. It also bridged over 600 km of wireless connectivity between the two balloons. Cuba and Florida are only about 100 miles (160 kilometers) apart, closest to each other.
Is it feasible?
However, experts are not sure if it is so easy to set up a guerrilla internet service for Cuba this way. Sending connections to Cuba requires an unused spectral band or radio frequency, and the use of the spectrum is usually controlled by the national government. Jacob Sharony of Mobius Consulting, a mobile and wireless consulting firm, says anyone trying to do this needs to find a free block of uninterrupted spectrum.
Tim Farrar of TMF Associates, a satellite communications consultant, said balloon- or drone-powered networks are likely to be uneconomical in the long run. It is suitable for bridging communications in times of disaster or in war zones, but the transmission capacity of such networks is not great. “It’s certainly not enough to serve the entire population of Cuba,” Farah said.
Another challenge: The Cuban government may also try to block the signal.
Who is involved in the Cuban initiative?
De Santis touts balloon ideas on Thursday with two Cuban-American lawmakers from the Miami region, Maria Salazar and Carlos Guimenez, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and Cuban-American lawyer, businessman, and museum director Marcel Felipe. Did.
Felipe said he had been in talks for about two years with a defense industry contractor who could cost-effectively deploy such balloons in airspace near Cuba, but did not reveal the company’s name. Felipe said his idea included sending an internet connection directly to the island’s mobile phone without the participation of a ground provider. In a comment to the Associated Press, Felipe did not quote evidence, but argued that it was infeasible for the Cuban government to “significantly” block signals delivered by these balloons.
None of the supporters provided a cost quote. Salazar said he believes that if the federal government approves the plan, it will be fully funded with donations from members of the Cuban diaspora if necessary.
What is Cuba’s internet access?
Internet access in Cuba is expensive and until recently it was relatively rare. Since December 2018, Cubans have been able to access the Internet by telephone through the state’s telecommunications monopoly. More than half of Cubans today have internet access.
However, according to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government has restricted independent media and censored what Cubans can use online. It blocks internet access in an attempt to thwart protests.
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