Google abandons Loon, its plan to offer the Internet with balloons

Google’s ambition was to offer the Internet all over the world thanks to balloons with its Loon project. But the group finally decided to end it for lack of commercial viability.

Loon had been tested in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017, as well as after a major earthquake in Peru. Last year, Google announced a partnership with US operator AT&T to keep mobile telecommunications services in the face of similar disasters. He had also launched a pilot commercial service in Kenya, proclaiming that “a new era of stratospheric communications has begun”.

However, Google has failed to get costs low enough to build a long-term sustainable business. Project Loon operations will shut down in the coming months, with the expectation that Loon employees will be redeployed to Alphabet. As a reminder, Alphabet is the parent company of Google.

Loon’s giant transparent plastic balloons are powered by solar panels and navigate using artificial intelligence systems. This allows them to reach ideal locations using the high altitude winds. They can also park for months at the desired location.

It is certain that this decision by Google to end the Loon project is disappointing. The project was not intended for regions like Europe. The objective was above all to target countries where the Internet connection is very poor, or even non-existent.