The future of the internet is mobile, but to allow access to an increasing number of people, new technologies must exist. In what they call the Connectivity Lab, Facebook employees are working towards bringing the Internet to people around the world using state of the art lasers, satellites, and drones. Yael Maguire, a former MIT quantum computing researcher, oversees the lab and is working with his engineering team to develop technologies that can bring the internet to those who don’t yet have access to it.
Nearly two-thirds of the world are still not connected online. Drones and infrared laser beams could be the answer to delivering internet access to entire communities in areas that do not have the resources to get it any other way. It is interesting to see Facebook tackle the Internet as a whole, but obviously the more people with internet access means more people who can use Facebook in the future. They have already completed their first drone test flight and continue to work to find a solution.
It is likely the signals will be sent via microwaves, but the details of the research are still unknown. If we know anything about Mark Zuckerberg, it’s his ability to take a small idea and expand it into an enterprise.
Read the full article here: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/tech/innovation/facebook-drones-lasers-connectivity/
