The Social Network Strikes Back | Facebook Is Raising An Army Of Drones!
Now, before you get all worked up about the idea that Facebook is aiming to become another major player in a potential global or cosmic scale conflict, let us put your mind at ease. The “drones” are not weaponized, do not have any military capabilities and their presence in the skies above us is a reason to rejoice. The term “drones” has earned a bad reputation, what with their impromptu bombings of weddings in third world countries in the name of freedom and democracy; fortunately, Facebook’s army of drones is as harmless as they come. And, to be fair, the “politically correct” term is atmospheric satellite.
What are Facebook’s intentions with respect to the aircrafts?
The acquisition of these drones or, to be more precise, the contract that has yet to be signed constitutes a critical component of Zuckerberg’s “internet.org” project. This project, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Google’s Loon, aims to provide internet connectivity within the borders of underdeveloped countries. During his speech at the MWC, the mastermind behind the world’s most popular social network stated that the number of people without an internet connection is around 5,000,000,000 worldwide. The internet.org project is designed to address this problem, one of the main steps being the construction and launch of the Solara 50 & 60 models.
Who is furnishing Emperor Mark Zuckerberg’s army?
The company that will help Facebook grant World Wide Web access to the less fortunate citizens of currently developing nations is Titan Aerospace. A research and development facility located in New Mexico and lead by Vern Raburn, Titan Aerospace was founded back in 2012. While they have refused to officially answer questions regarding the magnitude of the project or their position towards Facebook’s proposition, inside sources suggest that Mark Zuckerberg allocated around $60 million for this part of the project.
How legal are these drone-like satellites?
You’d think that privately owned crafts braving the skies of various countries would constitute a violation of the sovereign airspace, but you’d be wrong. See, even in the United States, these regulations apply exclusively for aircrafts that fly BENEATH 6,000 feet. Titan’s drone-like atmospheric satellites are designed to ascend to over 20 kilometers above sea level and maintain this altitude for approximately 5 years.
They don’t have to be refueled because – and here’s the fun part – they are solar powered! Furthermore, the aforementioned regulations with respect to the altitude are proprietary to the slightly paranoid (and rightfully so) nation of the United States. In developing countries – the main targets of the project -, there are few such restrictions.
What does Facebook hope to gain?
Do you mean besides keeping up with the Joneses, erm I mean Google? In addition to the advertisement and philanthropic recognition? Well, there is one more thing they could want. If you remember, Facebook recently acquired WhatsApp, an online exclusive messaging service for the sum of $18 billion. The problem is that in the absence of an internet connection, however weak, WhatsApp is completely useless. On the other hand, what if there was some way they could broaden the audience, somehow increasing the number of people with access to a free internet connection? Oh... goodness!
