Facebook will beam free internet down from space next year
In its mission to bring internet connectivity to all parts of the world, Facebook is sending a satellite into space next year.
Facebook is currently building Amos-6 in partnership with French satellite company Eutelsat.
Once it is complete it will be launched into geostationary orbit above Africa, at which point Facebook will work with local partners to beam free internet to 14 countries in Africa, spanning across all parts of the continent.
The project is part of the tech giant's internet.org initiative, which was founded two years ago and aims to get “4.5bn unconnected people on the internet”. So far, it has reached 20 countries around the world.
In a Facebook post last night founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said:
I'm excited to announce our first project to deliver internet from space. As part of our internet.org efforts to connect the world, we're partnering with Eutelsat to launch a satellite into orbit that will connect millions of people.Over the last year Facebook has been exploring ways to use aircraft and satellites to beam internet access down into communities from the sky. To connect people living in remote regions, traditional connectivity infrastructure is often difficult and inefficient, so we need to invent new technologies.