The remote-controlled balloons are powered by solar panels, inflated with helium and fixed to the ground. Once in flight, they act as floating cellular base stations that transmit radio signals to ground stations and personal devices.
It is expected to provide coverage and access to the digital economy for more than one million people in Zanzibar by the end of 2023. World Mobile is in talks with government officials in Tanzania and Kenya, as well as in other areas that are poorly served by traditional mobile operators. It plans to deploy 20 network sites, local Wi-Fi nodes by January 2022 and 120 sites in the first six months of 2022, including the first air balloon launch.
Le déploiement couvrira environ 75 % de l’île d’Unguja et donnera accès à l’économie numérique au sens large, y compris les communications, le commerce electronique, la finance, les soins de santé et l’éducation habit des 896000 he is.
With its “Loon” project, Google also considered this type of balloon access, before giving it up, given the very rapid growth of 4G and 5G networks around the world.
