杏吧原创

Google鈥檚 sister company X has lofty ambitions to bring wireless internet to remote parts of the world by beaming it down from balloons. Last week, X announced it wanted to use its Project Loon tech to restore mobile communications to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

Currently, 82 per cent of Puerto Rico鈥檚 internet base stations are down. But is X, which is owned by Google鈥檚 parent company Alphabet and styles itself as the 鈥渕oonshot factory鈥�, really Puerto Rico鈥檚 best hope? And who will benefit most 鈥� X or the people they want to help?

鈥淚t鈥檚 terrific that someone with radical tech is stepping in to help out,鈥� says at the University at Albany in New York, who works on wireless networks for developing countries. 鈥淐ommunication in this kind of situation is critical for both relief workers and families who have been separated.鈥�

X already has a licence from the US Federal Communications Commission. 鈥淲e need to take innovative approaches to help restore connectivity on the island,鈥� said FCC chairman Ajit Pai in a statement. 鈥淧roject Loon is one such approach.鈥�

The company is now talking to local telecoms companies about how to manage the next stage. 鈥淭o deliver signal to people鈥檚 devices, Loon needs be integrated with a telco partner鈥檚 network 鈥� the balloons can鈥檛 do it alone,鈥� says X鈥檚 Libby Leahy.

Project loon

But once Project Loon is up and running in Puerto Rico, will it help those most in need? X鈥檚 balloons will beam down 4G internet, but many people may not have 4G phones, says Zheleva. 鈥淭hat raises a red flag in my mind,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou need to take into account what people have in their pockets. I鈥檓 very interested to see what coverage they can provide.鈥�

at the Oxford Internet Institute, who studies developing information economies, also welcomes X鈥檚 plans. But he thinks we should be clear up front what Alphabet might want in return. 鈥淚f they want to try to harvest, sell and monetise the data of users, and further entrench their monopoly, we should we wary of their goals,鈥� he says. 鈥淎 free service may come at a price if Project Loon does not offer access to the open internet.鈥�

It may sound cynical but these are exactly the concerns raised about Facebook鈥檚 efforts to provide mobile internet to developing countries 鈥� and a big reason India shut down the company鈥檚 Free Basics service last year.

And X is not the only Silicon Valley company to offer aid. Elon Musk has said that Tesla could . And Facebook鈥檚 Mark Zuckerberg took part in a livestreamed virtual reality tour of the island鈥檚 devastation 鈥� something聽 The Guardian called 鈥溾��.

鈥淟et鈥檚 make sure we recognise whether Project Loon is a selfless act of charity or a core part of the business strategy of one of the world鈥檚 largest internet corporations,鈥� says Graham.

But if not Alphabet, then who else can help? There are several start-ups that offer 鈥渘etwork-in-a-box鈥� solutions, says Zheleva. Efforts like , and make small box-like devices that provide a local cellular network at ground level. These might not have the range of Project Loon but they cater to a wider range of phones, including older 2G and 3G models. 鈥淭hey would be a perfect fit for the communication needs in these communities,鈥� says Zheleva.

鈥淎nything being done is better than nothing,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut I hope this situation makes us think of alternative.鈥�