As
the popular social networking site
Facebook goes on an acquisition spree, its founder
Mark Zuckerberg now has plans to make it more sci—fi in the near future. In the
latest post, he has revealed that drones, satellites and lasers are being
developed at Facebook’s connectivity lab to deliver the internet to “the next 3
billion people” in underdeveloped countries.
“For
suburban areas in limited geographical regions, we have been working on
solar—powered high altitude, long endurance aircraft that can stay aloft for
months, be quickly deployed and deliver reliable internet connections,”
Zuckerberg announced. “For lower density areas, low—earth orbit and
geosynchronous satellites can beam internet access to the ground,” he added. According
to him, in their effort to connect the whole world with Internet.org, they have
been working on ways to beam internet to people from the sky.
He
admitted that new technology was the key to expanding the internet’s reach. “Our
team has many of the world’s leading experts in aerospace and communications
technology, including from Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Ames Research Center,”
the post revealed. After buying popular mobile messaging service WhatsApp for
$19 billion, Facebook is set to purchase Oculus VR, the virtual—reality—headset
company best known for its Oculus Rift gaming device, for $2 billion.
Facebook
is also reported to buy Texas—based Titan Aerospace that makes drones that can
fly solo for five years without needing to land for $60million.