

Google’s balloon-based wireless networks may not be a crazy idea - qubitsam
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/06/googles-balloon-based-wireless-networks-may-not-be-a-crazy-idea/

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InclinedPlane
I find it funny how the starting assumption is that one of the smartest
technology companies in history is clueless.

Technically the idea sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Wireless networking
has the smallest equipment and capital footprint of all networking so it's by
far the easiest to deploy in areas that don't have much existing
infrastructure. Using free-floating blimps or aerostats seems like one of the
simpler ways to put transmitters at sufficient altitude to increase coverage.

Additionally, from a business standpoint it may not seem like there's a lot of
money in Africa but that's a very prejudiced sentiment, I think. Many parts of
Africa are developing quickly, there is already money to be had there.
Moreover, over the coming decades even more of Africa will develop. And by
then Google will have the brand recognition, the connections, the good-will,
and the operational experience to dominate the market providing services to a
market of over a billion people.

Over the next several decades the economies of Africa will grow by trillions
of dollars of GDP. With a comparatively modest initial investment Google can
gain a foothold into providing services to those economies. This is a very
smart strategic move, in my view.

