Facebook drops $1bn internet satellite plan

Facebook’s plan of building an Internet Satellite connection for parts of the world has fallen. According to a report from The Information, project was dropped amid concerns that the money spent might not be recovered.

Facebook planned to use the satellite to provide free and cheap internet connection to the locations in developing countries.

While mobile companies like Samsung and Qualcomm teamed up with Facebook supporting the idea of placing global internet satellites, Facebook launched internet.org back in 2013. This service aimed to help support the satellite project. Now that satellites seem to be out of the equation, the project’s goal could still be attained via Wi-Fi drones that the group is developing.

The solar-powered flying machines, which would be kept at an altitude of between 60 000 and 90 000 feet, could be as large as a Boeing 747 aircraft, but as light as “four of the tires of a Prius,” according to Facebook’s Yael Maguire, who’s heavily involved in the project.