Facebook has been in the news over the course of this week, mainly for picking up Oculus VR for a cool $2 billion. Well, it seems that the company intends to expand on their current 1 billion plus active mobile users figure, Facebook has announced the Connectivity Lab. Just what is the Connectivity Lab all about?
A team over at Facebook are currently developing new aerospace and communication technologies so that they are able to play a role in advancing the Internet.org mission, that is, to improve and extend internet access to the masses, especially for folks living in the deep interiors of remote areas of the world.
The Connectivity Lab will include some of the world’s top experts from Ascenta, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA’s Ames Research Center, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, and the new delivery platforms will comprise of planes as well as satellites in order to deliver connectivity to the unreached masses.
There were also rumors earlier this month that the social network giant picked up Titan Aerospace, a drone manufacturer that intends to roll out huge Internet-connected balloons so that all civilizations will be able to go online (and sign up for a free Facebook account along the way, I suppose). Hopefully the Connectivity Lab will also be able to figure out how to deliver steady electricity to similarly remote areas. [Press Release]
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