It looks like Facebook is
indeed building an internet satellite.
The social network is
working on a new satellite project that will provide broadband internet
connections to "unserved and underserved areas," according to FCC
documents uncovered by Wired.
The documents, produced by a
Freedom of Information Act request, detail several email exchanges between FCC
officials and Facebook representatives from 2016 and 2018. In the 2018
messages, Facebook reps refer to a "small satellite experimental
application for the Athena satellite."
Earlier this year, rumors
began swirling that the company was working on another satellite project. IEEE
uncovered FCC filings referring to the Athena satellite, which appeared to
point back to Facebook. Now we know for certain that Facebook is behind it, as
the company confirmed the Athena project to Wired, though it didn't elaborate
on specific plans for the satellite.
Facebook has dabbled in
satellite technology before. The social network was supposed to launch an
internet-beaming satellite for parts of Africa in
2016, but lost it when SpaceX's rocket exploded during a test.
The social network has made
big investments in bringing internet connectivity to places where people don't
have access to broadband connections. The company previously tested an
internet-beaming drone called Acquila, a project that was
killed earlier this year.
Besides enabling Facebook's
self-proclaimed mission to "connect the world," bringing remote parts
of the globe online is a strategic part of Facebook's business. With more than
2 billion users, the company will have to find inventive ways to reach new audiences
if it wants to keep growing.
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