Google to Test-Fly Balloons that Transmit Internet over Australia

Google is all set to test-fly its internet-transmitting balloons over western Queensland in Australia in a bid to enhance the connectivity of remote regions of the world.

Teaming up with a company called Telstra, Google will test-fly 20 balloons in December in the next phase of its Project Loon.

The helium balloons stay afloat on stratospheric winds and using antennas, they can trasmit 4G-like internet signals to phones and homes 20km below, reported the Guardian.

From its end, Telstra will be supplying base stations to communicate with the balloons and space on the radio spectrum.

A similar test has already been conducted above Christchurch in New Zealand last year.

Google said at the time the location had been selected due to its favourable stratospheric conditions.

Project Loon has been in the works since 2011 by scientists in Google X –the lab behind the revolutionary Google Glass.

Google hopes to connect an estimated two-thirds of people who are presently unwired by circulating a ring of balloons across the Earth.

It is also hoping the project could help connect areas affected by natural disasters.

Project Loon is vital for developing countries where underground fibre cabling can be very expensive.