Google's ambitious plan to provide internet connectivity to remote areas in India, through floating balloons, got an in principle nod from the Government yesterday. In light of Google CEO, Sundar Pichai's visit to India, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced that the Government is in an in principle agreement to pilot Google's Project Loon. Prasad also spoke about a partnership between Google and BSNL for the proliferation of Project Loon to remote areas in the nation that have low connectivity.
Google Project Loon is an initiative by Google Lab X with a mission to provide internet access to remote areas. Google's Loon balloons will float at a height of 18-20 Kms and create aerial wireless networks using 4G/LTE technology. Interestingly enough, the project is called 'Loon' not only because it involves balloons, but also because Google thought beaming internet to 5 billion unconnected potential web users is a "crazy" idea. Earlier in the year, Project Loon was in the news, in India, for being stone-walled by the defence, home and civil aviation ministeries. Questions were raised on the security concerns surrounding the project. Another key concern of these ministeries includes the fact that the spectrum required by Project Loon is already being used by India's telecom operators, but Pichai claims that Google has data showing that Project Loon does not interefere with telecom services.
You can check out the complete list of key announcements by Google in India – here. You can also check out our slideshow for a list of important announcements made by Google in 2015.