Dirk Scott
Sounds far fetched, but do not underestimate Portuguese innovation and technologies. I took an apartment in Lisbon, the capital, and ordered internet and TV. The guy came round, sorted the TV then plugged a box into the mains electricity and said "there you are". I was shocked (we are still trying to install copper wire in the UK). "You can take it to two other locations and use use it there too and your house phone runs on it too". Despite metre thick walls in the block I am getting 50mb from the air here and 10mb in the middle of nowhere on a farm up in the mountains. 58% of the country's energy is from renewables too. Way ahead.
EddieG
Only the ISP industry will benefit from this. The rest of us will never know the difference.
Freyr Gunnar
The article doesn't say how those UAVs will be powered. Solar?
Dirk Scott > The guy came round, sorted the TV then plugged a box into the mains electricity and said "there you are". I was shocked (we are still trying to install copper wire in the UK). "You can take it to two other locations and use use it there too and your house phone runs on it too".
Powerline adapter?
Michiel Mitchell
The real issue is, how do we prevent the internet from going down, the moment Shiat hits the fan. These things are sitting ducks for any government's military.
Cristian Raicu
The company is not Portuguese. The UAV will be solar. Internet only in sunny and windless days.
Brian Mcc
Never going to happen. Obsolete before it gets built.
Reason
Quarkson?
I suggest the first one built should be christened the Jeremy ;)
Mark C
@Cristian Every day is sunny @ 75000ft...
And we already have a solar plane successfully flying thru the night - see Solar Impulse
Why are there still people who cannot get the fact that the planet is already 100% solar powered.
Laurent Panetier
This is great however this set up will require many authorizations at several states an authorities levels before being operational. It will also require time to be fully operational, never mind the expenses it will incur. All initiatives to give access to the internet to people everywhere in the world is worth trying. But the needs have to be fulfilled now, not in 2 or 3 years. More and more people in developing countries, in Africa, in Asia and elsewhere now have access to smartphones but cannot afford dataplans. Connecting the world is an issue that needs to be addressed today not tomorrow. The latest FAO/UNESCO report shows that new technlogies can reduce the number of people who suffer from hunger in the world. A light and simple mobile application on the most affordable smartphone operating Android and allowing a connection to the internet no matter the carrier, no matter the network is more than sufficient and can help millions better their lives...
Nuno Terra
@ Cristian Titus Raicu:
Yes, it is a Portuguese company and Yes, you can have solar power even on cloudy days. And these UAVs are supposed to fly above them!
Check the link: http://www.quarkson.com/about/