Alphabet's balloon-powered internet is going to Africa.
A week after becoming an actual business, Alphabet's Loon struck its first commercial deal, which will involve serving smartphone users in central Kenya.
The agreement will pilot the technology with Telkom Kenya, the country's third largest telecommunication provider, which has 4 million subscribers in the country. The balloon-powered internet will start rolling out next year in the country's central region, which has been difficult to serve due to its mountainous terrain —making it an ideal testing ground.
However, Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth noted this will mark the first time its balloon-powered internet will be used in Africa. "This is a first for all of us, and over the coming months we will collaborate on the technical, operational, and other work needed to expand Telkom's network to more people in Kenya," he wrote in a Wednesday blog post.
Loon's previous trials have occurred in New Zealand and the Americas. Most recently, the company's balloons were used in Puerto Rico to provide emergency 4G/LTE service to 100,000 people following the devastation from Hurricane Maria.
The technology is specifically designed to provide internet access in parts of the world where building cell towers or fiber optic networks on the ground is too difficult or costly. Loon's solution works by using hot-air balloons to essentially act as floating cell towers that can beam 4G access to smartphone owners down below.
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The balloons themselves are designed to float for more than 100 days at a height of 60,000 feet. To navigate, they ride wind currents and get power from the sun.
In Kenya, Loon will serve a country that's been experiencing rapid growth in mobile internet adoption. It now has 35 million mobile data subscriptions, up from 25 million, following the deployment of new 4G networks in the nation, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya.
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