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Although Facebook abandoned the plan to build its own drones to provide the Internet, the company continues with its initiative but betting on space.
According to documents obtained through a request to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the social network is working on its own Internet satellite called Athena.
The project, which will provide broadband Internet connections in underserved areas, will be launched early next year, according to the Wired portal.
The company owned by Facebook, PointView Tech LLC, was responsible for requesting permission from the FCC to put the satellite into orbit.
The social network wants to experiment with Athena so that he can offer Internet 10 times faster than Elon Musk's idea with Starlink, according to The Verge portal.
The satellite would replace the abandoned efforts at Aquila, the project that consisted of designing its own drones that would operate as huge "routers" located at high altitude to provide the Internet.
Instead, Facebook said in a statement that the Aquila project would focus on the development of embedded software systems that guide aircraft. Internet
Why a satellite?
According to a report on broadband development last year, more than half of the world's inhabitants still have no internet connectivity.
For this reason, to achieve this, the only way is to use low-orbiting satellites located between 160 and 2,000 kilometers above the surface, according to the text.
There is already a booming business on the satellite Internet market: Space X, which launched its first satellites in February of this year.
Facebook also wants to venture into this market, in order to have more users on its platform, which would further develop its advertising activities.
"We believe that satellite technology will be an important factor in the next generation of broadband infrastructure, enabling broadband connectivity to rural areas where Internet connectivity is non-existent or non-existent", said a Facebook spokesperson to Wired. in a statement.
TECNÓSFERA
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