A larger fleet of Loon balloons is heading to Kenya after successful launches from Loon’s launch site in Puerto Rico, this week.
The first Loon balloon arrived in the country’s airspace, on April 2, a week after the operators were cleared by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
StratoCat, a space monitoring website had earlier said three others would be expected to arrive in the country through Somalia from Seychelles.
Eight balloons are already active and part of a network integration exercise in Kenyan airspace.
The balloons christened HBA092 are already above the centre of Kenya’s airspace.
‘’Three more balloons including HAA093, HBAL25, and HBAL26 are moving towards the continent near Seychelles,’’ StratoCat, a space monitoring website had earlier on tweeted after the first arrival.
Loon’s solution works by beaming internet connectivity from these ground stations to a balloon 20km overhead.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said the deployment of the internet balloons will be vital for the continuity of learning and work disrupted by the outbreak of coronavirus.
“These balloons will carry 4G base station and have the capacity to provide wider signal coverage, this intervention will enable Kenya to retain her competitive advantage in ICT and innovation in the midst of the current crisis,” Uhuru said.
The arrival of more internet balloons is good news to companies and employees who are currently working from home. It is expected to help them cut on internet costs.
