 begin testing later this year, while Google’s Loon balloons, which float in the stratosphere, are currently being tested in a variety of locations.
Looking even higher, SpaceX and OneWeb are building a constellation of satellites that will continually orbit Earth with the goal of being able to provide Internet access anywhere at any time. OneWeb has raised $500 million from a group of companies, including Qualcomm, and is targeting a 2018 launch date for the first of its satellites.
As the infratech startups work from the bottom up on access to Internet and phone networks, and major corporations work from the top down to provide Internet access everywhere on Earth, almost every person should have reliable and affordable access to phone and Internet networks within the next decade. Developing the tech infrastructure to accomplish this goal will be extraordinarily challenging, but tremendous advances have already been made.
As today’s infratech companies succeed in building alternatives to the infrastructure we take for granted, they will have a potential market in the billions across the developing world, and will fundamentally alter how people around the world live.
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