Broadband balloons

21-01-2004

An international group of communications companies and research institutes has launched a E5.6 million project to develop a network that will make broadband available to remote rural areas without the need for cable or satellite connections.

The plan is to build "high-altitude platforms" (HAPs), that is: airships or solar-powered aircraft, which will be permanently located in the skies at an altitude of 20 kilometres, above aeroplanes but below satellites. The project will deliver broadband connections 2,000 times faster than by a traditional modem and 200 times faster than 'wired' ADSL broadband. The project, dubbed Capanina, and funded by the European Union - part of a larger project aimed at providing "broadband for all" - will be led by the University of York, England.

York researchers will investigate the most effective way to operate wireless communication links via HAPs, including propagation and resource management. The team said their approach will be cheaper and more efficient than cable or satellite-based delivery since HAPs do not require underground cabling or masts. The trials will also put steerable "smart" antennae through their paces, to test the practicality of providing "hovering broadband" to travellers in cars or trains. This would enable commuters and others to download or transmit picture files and other heavy data at 120 megabits a second. The team hopes to achieve that goal within four years. Last year, York-based telecoms firm SkyLINC announced it was to build a network of base stations in balloons, tethered 1.5km high, as a platform for delivering broadband to rural communities.