Of the 7 billion people in the world, more than half do not have Internet access, but Google is trying to change that for all the 4.8 billion not online.
According to the Associated Press, Google launched balloons into the stratosphere from a field in Christchurch, New Zealand as part of ultra-secret Project Loon. The project is named for how crazy it really is.
"It's a huge moonshot. A really big goal to go after," project leader Mike Cassidy said. "The power of the Internet is probably one of the most transformative technologies of our time."
The project is still in an experimental phase, but launching the balloons successfully was the first step in their hefty goal. If this test is works as planned, Google hopes to one day launch thousands of balloons into the stratosphere and provide the planet with Internet access.
Charles Nimmo, a farmer and entrepreneur, was one of 50 people to agree to test the Internet connection. The project leaders installed two basketball-sized receptors that resemble Google maps pins outside his home. Later, he successfully logged on to the Internet.
"It's been weird," Nimmo said of the experience. "But it's been exciting to be part of something new."
Nimmo cannot receive a broadband connection in his location, even though he lives in a developed country. He used to have dial-up but got rid of it for satellite Internet and ditched that after his bills started exceeding $1,000.
His first stop on the web was checking the weather to see when would be an optimal time to shear his sheep.
Google's balloons fly out of eyesight from the ground and travel on the prevailing winds. They get their power from card-table-sized solar panels that dangle below and collect enough energy in four hours to power their area for a day. Each balloon has the capability to provide web access for an area twice the size of New York City.
Terrain is also not an issue for the balloons. They are designed to work even on the deepest of valleys and the flattest of plains; in the densest cities and in sparsely populated villages.
To use the balloon's signal, a user would need a receiver to plug into their computer. Google has not disclosed any pricing, but the goal is to make it inexpensive, which it already is wildly less costly than laying cable for 4.8 billion people.
The trial was run in Christchurch because it is the site the devastating earthquake from 2011 that killed 185 people. Another benefit of the balloons is that it would help people in remote areas quickly get back online following natural disasters.
"After the initial upheaval, the Internet really came into play," Tina Gilchrist, a resident who signed up for the trial, said. "It was how people coordinated relief efforts and let people know how to get in touch with agencies. It was really, really effective and it wasn't necessarily driven by the authorities."
