An innovative way to provide high speed internet through light rays through the air has successfully transmitted information across the Congo River.
This means that citizens of Brazzaville and Kinshasa can get fast and cheap broadband.
Project Tara is one of the so-called Munshot concepts of the alphabet X (formerly Google X).
It grew out of Project Broad, a broadband project using balloons in the stratosphere, since it was closed.
The latest test means that the gap between the two African cities – Brazzaville in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – has been filled, the party said in a blog post.
The cities are only three miles away but they are difficult to connect because the traditional cable has to run around the river, making broadband five times more expensive.
High-speed internet : Airborne beams of light
The Wireless Optical Communications (WOC) system has provided about te00 terabytes of data in 20 days with 9% availability.
“While we don’t expect perfect reliability in all types of weather and conditions in the future, we are confident that Star Links will continue to deliver similar performance and play a key role in bringing faster, more affordable connections to 17 million people living in this city,” it blogs. Has been said.
This is the latest iteration of the project which has been in development for three years. Working with X-Iconet Group and Liquid Telecom to bring high-speed Internet to sub-Saharan Africa, it has embarked on a commercial journey in Kenya.
The system uses very narrow, invisible beams of light to provide higher speeds, such as light used to carry conventional fiber data to the ground but simply without wires.
The technology, known as Free Space Optical Communications, was developed through experiments, which the team previously used in Project Lun, using beam lasers in balloons, which shut down the alphabet in February because it was no longer seen as commercially sustainable.
This is not perfect and the team acknowledges that it will not provide full reliability in challenging situations, such as fog, mist or when the bird will fly in front of the signal.
How to work: High-speed internet Airborne beams of light
But it has been improved by adjusting the level of flowing laser power, which works somewhat like a telescope, depending on the beam, lights, software and hardware to take the beam exactly where it is needed. The team has also found ways to reduce errors due to obstacles such as birds flying through the link.
“While places like foggy San Francisco may never be the ideal place to use WOC, there are many places around the world where the weather is ideal for star links,” the blog said.
The technology has also been tested in Kenya, India, the United States and Mexico. Now internet speed will be 100 mb/s
Other projects Alphabet X is working on include:
◼ Minerals – Efforts to develop new technologies to build a more sustainable food system
◼ Tides – looking at improving sea health
◼ Everyday Robot Project – The goal of creating robots that can be helpful in everyday life
