How the Airborne Internet Will Work

Inside this Article:

1.Introduction to How the Airborne Internet Will Work

2.The Net Takes Flight

3.A HALO Over Head

4.Floating On Air

5.Lots More Information

1.Introduction to How the Airborne Internet Will Work:

The word on just about every Internet user's lips these days is "broadband." We have so much more data to send and download today, including audio files, video files and photos, that it's clogging our wimpy modems. Many Internet users are switching to cable modems and digital subscriber lines (DSLs) to increase their bandwidth. There's also a new type of service being developed that will take broadband into the air.

This diagram shows how the HALO Network will enable a high-speed wireless Internet connection.

At least three companies are planning to provide high-speed wireless Internet connection by placing aircraft in fixed patterns over hundreds of cities. Angel Technologies is planning an airborne Internet network, called High Altitude Long Operation (HALO), which would use lightweight planes to circle overhead and provide data delivery faster than a T1 line for businesses. Consumers would get a connection comparable to DSL. Also, AeroVironment has teamed up with NASA on a solar-powered, unmanned plane that would work like the HALO network, and Sky Station International is planning a similar venture using blimps instead of planes. We've already seen satellites used for broadband Internet access. In this edition of How Stuff WILL Work, you'll learn about the future of the airborne Internet. We'll take a look at the networks in development, the aircraft and how consumers may use this technology in their homes.

2.The Net Takes Flight:

The computer most people use comes with a standard 56K modem, which means that in an ideal situation your computer would downstream at a rate of 56 kilobits per second (Kbps). That speed is far too slow to handle the huge streaming-video and music files that more consumers are demanding today. That's where the need for bigger bandwidth -- broadband -- comes in, allowing a greater amount of data to flow to and from your computer. Land-based lines are limited physically in how much data they can deliver because of the diameter of the cable or phone line. In an airborne Internet, there is no such physical limitation, enabling a broader capacity.
The airborne Internet won't be completely wireless. There will be ground-based components to any type of airborne Internet network. The consumers will have to install an antenna on their home or business in order to receive signals from the network hub overhead. The networks will also work with established Internet Service Providers (ISPs), who will provide their high-capacity terminals for use by the network. These ISPs have a fiber point of presence -- their fiber optics are already set up. What the airborne Internet will do is provide an infrastructure that can reach areas that don't have broadband cables and wires.

Airborne-Internet systems will require that an antenna be attached to the side of your house or work place.

In the next three sections, we will take a look at the three aircraft that could be bringing you broadband Internet access from the sky.

3.A HALO Over Head:

One the three companies developing an airborne Internet network is Angel Technologies. Its HALO Network may be ready for deployment at the end of 2003 and in place over 10 citiesby2006. The centerpiece of this network is the Proteus plane, which will carry wirelessnetworking equipment into the air.

The Proteus plane will carry the network hub for the HALO Network.

The Proteus plane was developed by Scaled Composites. It is designed with long wings and the low wing loading needed for extended high-altitude flight. Wing loading is equal to the entire mass of the plane divided by its wing area. Proteus will fly at heights of 9.5 and 11.4 miles (15.3 and 18.3 km) and cover an area up to 75 miles (120.7 km) in diameter. The plane still needs to receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Proteus Aircraft
Weight-9,000 pounds at takeoff5,900 pounds empty,
Wingspan-77 ft 7 inches (23.7 m)Expandable to 92 feet (28 m),
Length-56.3 ft (17.2 m),
Height-17.6 ft (5.4 m),
Engines-2 turbofan engines2,300 pounds of thrust,
Range-18 hours,
Speed-65 knots (75 mph/120.7 kph)to 250 knots (288 mph/463.5 kph).

Each city in the HALO Network will be allotted three piloted Proteus planes. Each plane will fly for eight hours before the next plane takes off. Angel CEO Marc Arnold says his company has identified 3,500 airports in the United States that can meet HALO's operational needs. After takeoff, the Proteus plane will climb to a safe altitude, above any bad weather or commercial traffic, and begin an 8-mile loop around the city. Each plane will accommodate two pilots, who will split flying duties during their eight-hour flight.

4.Floating On Air:

Sky Station International is counting on its blimps to beat Angel to the punch in the race to deliver high-speed Internet access from high altitudes. Sky Station calls its blimps lighter-than-air platforms, and plans to station these airships over at least 250 cities worldwide, one over each city. Each station would fly at an altitude of 13 miles (21 km) and provide wireless service to an area of approximately 7,500 square miles (19,000 square km).

Sky Station Blimp

Diameter-203 ft (62 m),
Length-515 ft (157 m),
Width-approx. 300 ft (91 m),
Power-Solar and fuel cells.

Each blimp will be equipped with a telecommunications payload to provide wireless broadband connections. The blimps will be able to carrying payloads of up to about 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg). Sky Station believes it can have its first blimp deployed by 2002. Each blimp will have a life span of about five to 10 years. Sky Station says that its user terminals will enable broadband connections of between 2 and 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Click here to see how the Sky Station system works

5. Lots More Information

Related HowStuffWorks Links
· How Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) Work
· How Cable Modems Work
· How does a T1 line work?
· How does satellite Internet operate?
· How the Interplanetary Internet Will Work
· HowStuffWorks' Internet Category
· How Stuff WILL Work

Other Great Links
· AeroVironment: Helios Telecommunications
· Angel Technologies' HALO Network
· Sky Station International
· NASA: Helios Prototype