Internet has a lots of impact on our
daily life. Since morning to evening we connected through it by many
ways like google, facebook, twitter, whatsapp and many other websites.
Due to its high impact, we cannot think our life without it. But still
around 60% people round the globle live without internet as they reside
in interior area or island where internet connectivity is rare or due to
its expensive cost.
Before going foward i want to explain, how internet works. You must have seen various tower on house roof or many places. These towers send radio signal to our devices for internet connectivity. Towers itself connected to eachother through optical fiber cable which is the fastest communication channel. But the cost of this infrastructure is very high, so cost of internet is high.
Facebook takes an initiative to build fast internet connection at very low cost. They use high-altitude aircraft, satellites, free space optics, and terrestrial solutions for it. UK aerospace team has designed an aircraft called Aquila. It can stay in air for months at a time. It is operated by solar power. Aquila can create 50 km communications radius for 90 days and send signal to people below it. This signal is received by tower in that area and convert that signal to Wi-Fi or LTE network, so that people can connect to their phones easily.
But in this condition, aircraft should be very big so that it covers maximum area and to fly high it should be light weight. Aquila has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 airplane (around 42 meters) but weighs a third as much as an electric car. The monocoque wing is made from a cured carbon fiber that is stronger than steel for the same mass of material.
It can fly at an altitude from 60,000 to 90,000 feet from ground. During day, it will fly at an altitude of 90,000 feet to maximum utilize solar energy to charge their solar cells. At night, it will come at an altitude of 60,000 feet to consume less power. Its flying altitude is very high as compared to any commercial flight, so that commercial flight do not get effected due to its movement. Commercial airliners and military aircraft typically fly in the lower levels of the stratosphere, which starts between 30,000 and 41,000 feet.
Facebook uses free space laser communications as a mechanism for communicating between aircraft. Free space optics is very secure, as the narrow beam is hard to intercept. However, the signal quality gets affected by weather conditions. Facebook use air as communication medium through laser beam, while fiber optics send fast data through fiber.
Before going foward i want to explain, how internet works. You must have seen various tower on house roof or many places. These towers send radio signal to our devices for internet connectivity. Towers itself connected to eachother through optical fiber cable which is the fastest communication channel. But the cost of this infrastructure is very high, so cost of internet is high.
Facebook takes an initiative to build fast internet connection at very low cost. They use high-altitude aircraft, satellites, free space optics, and terrestrial solutions for it. UK aerospace team has designed an aircraft called Aquila. It can stay in air for months at a time. It is operated by solar power. Aquila can create 50 km communications radius for 90 days and send signal to people below it. This signal is received by tower in that area and convert that signal to Wi-Fi or LTE network, so that people can connect to their phones easily.
But in this condition, aircraft should be very big so that it covers maximum area and to fly high it should be light weight. Aquila has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 airplane (around 42 meters) but weighs a third as much as an electric car. The monocoque wing is made from a cured carbon fiber that is stronger than steel for the same mass of material.
It can fly at an altitude from 60,000 to 90,000 feet from ground. During day, it will fly at an altitude of 90,000 feet to maximum utilize solar energy to charge their solar cells. At night, it will come at an altitude of 60,000 feet to consume less power. Its flying altitude is very high as compared to any commercial flight, so that commercial flight do not get effected due to its movement. Commercial airliners and military aircraft typically fly in the lower levels of the stratosphere, which starts between 30,000 and 41,000 feet.
Facebook uses free space laser communications as a mechanism for communicating between aircraft. Free space optics is very secure, as the narrow beam is hard to intercept. However, the signal quality gets affected by weather conditions. Facebook use air as communication medium through laser beam, while fiber optics send fast data through fiber.
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