Sri Lanka and Google signed a partnership on Tuesday in order to launch Loon high altitude ‘floating telecom tower’ balloons full broadband internet coverage to the entire country. Free Wi-Fi connections will be available across Sri Lanka by March 2016.
Project Loon is one of Google’s most ambitious initiatives to beam broadband internet access down to remote or rural regions through a network of stratosphere-roaming balloons. The MoU was signed in Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremsinghe’s office in Colombo with Google Loon Team Leader Mike Cassidy. The agreement in this regard was reached following a discussion held by State Minister for Defence Ruwan Wijewardene with Chamath Palihapitiya, the successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur and partial owner the Golden State Warriors.
