Facebook's solar-powered Internet drone 'Aquila' is ready for real-world testing

In its latest announcement, Facebook reveals to have completed building its first full-scale drone, Aquila, that aims at providing Internet access to the most remote parts of the world. The drone is now ready for real-world testing and the company said it will test it in the United States later this year. [caption id=“attachment_276185” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  The image shows Aquila[/caption] Aquila is a solar powered unmanned plane that beams down internet connectivity from the sky. It has the wingspan of a Boeing 737, but weighs less than a car and can stay in the air for months at a time. Facebook has also announced what it call a ‘breakthrough’ in laser communications technology. The company claims to have successfully tested a new laser that can transmit data at 10 gigabits per second. “That’s ten times faster than any previous system, and it can accurately connect with a point the size of a dime from more than 10 miles away,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. The plane will weigh about 880 pounds (400 kg), said Yael Maguire, the company’s engineering director of connectivity. It will hover between 60,000 feet and 90,000 feet (20 and 30 km), above the altitude of commercial airplanes, so that it is not affected by problematic weather. “Our mission is to connect everybody in the world,” said Jay Parikh, vice president of engineering. “This is going to be a great opportunity for us to motivate the industry to move faster on this technology.” The drone, which was built in 14 months, is able to fly in the air for 90 days at a time, Maguire said. Helium balloons will be attached to the plane and float it up into the air. The drones have a wingspan of 42 meters (46 yards). Because the planes must constantly move to stay aloft, they will circle a three-km (two-mile) radius, Parikh said. During the day, they will float up to 90,000 feet (30 km) and at night will drift down to 60,000 feet (20 km) to conserve energy. The programme Aquila is geared towards the 10 percent of the population that does not have any Internet access. Separately, Facebook a year ago launched **Internet.org** , an initiative to provide Internet access to the two-thirds of the world that do not have a reliable connection including India. However, it has received a lot of flak for violating **net neutrality in India** . Parikh said Facebook is not planning to sell the drones but will use them to expand Internet access. Although Facebook does not immediately face policy or legal hurdles in testing its drone in the United States, Maguire said, it is the first company to fly at such altitudes. It has a team working with policymakers to help set guidelines. Take a look at the video showing how Aquila was built. With inputs from Reuters