Google reportedly launching 180 satellites for global internet service

WOW! Apparently Google is serious about world wide coverage for internet services provided. Is it just me or is anyone else getting a little uncomfortable with how universal they are becoming? Either way on that though, this looks to be revolutionary in terms of what has come before.

Google has been hiring new staff from satellite companies in an effort to get its space internet scheme off the ground. The project is reportedly being run by Greg Wyler, who founded satellite startup O3b Networks. O3b, in whom Google has invested, has been experimenting with 1,500-pound satellites, but people familiar with the project say the devices Google intends to use will weigh less than 250 pounds. The WSJ's sources say the costs for the venture could top $3 billion as Google makes tweaks to the network and revises the number of satellites it needs to offer internet in unconnected parts of the world.

They do have a way of just thinking things up and doing them and this looks to be no exception to that approach. It looks to me as though they are definitely going about it in a way to accomplish their goals.

Where other companies trying for things like global consumer voice coverage by direct satellite have been rather spectacular examples of how not to do such a thing, this may just work. Time will tell..

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, a Google spokesperson suggested the company's efforts were altruistic. "Internet connectivity significantly improves people's lives. Yet two thirds of the world have no access at all." But there's also a financial reason to offer these two thirds a reliable way to get online. If at least one of the methods — balloon, drone, or satellite — can successfully offer high-speed internet to underserved parts of the world, then Google will also be in a position to offer its products and services to vast new markets.

Source

Hmm.. yes indeed.. I think we have the long and short of it. The Start and finish and general core of the story, right in that last paragraph. In the opening, they speak to their altruistic motives, which I believe they do have. Those just don't drive them, IMO.

No, for that, we need to look to the end of that same paragraph. 'Google will also be in a position to offer it's products and services to vast new markets'. Oh, yeah, there is THAT little detail to add to the pure altruism, huh?

Still... If it gets people in the middle of nowhere an internet connection they've never seen before, to access what they never imagined possible? They may call the ads a decent bargain for the benefit.

a reply to: Wrabbit2000

I just hope this ends up putting telecommunications companies out of the business of providing internet service to consumers. I'm not sure what the rates are elsewhere, but in Canada we pay some of the highest rates in the world for mobile network usage, and those figures are reflected in the prices ISP's charge here for monthly internet service. There are a handful of companies with strangleholds on the market, and not enough competition to drive prices down to reasonable levels.

I'd put up with extra advertising with no qualms whatsoever if it meant free high speed internet wherever I went. If anything, these plans to provide internet to the world via satellites (I seem to recall something about facebook doing the same thing) should at least work to reduce costs for consumers. So there is somewhat of a silver lining... I hope...

Let's say that Google isn't already infiltrated by alphabet agencies, nefarious peoples of ill intent, pirates, contractors, guns for hire, whoever...

The larger they grow, it will eventually be inevitable that the network they have will be too appealing to resist. "Wait, you mean if we crack them we can listen to people phone calls, their internet traffic, know everything they do, drive their car for them (googles auto driving car), watch through their eyes (google glass), get their bank data, etc, etc, etc...

People will be groomed from birth simply to rise the ranks of google and pass off control to an outside organization.

a reply to: boncho

Yep. The potential for a total and global surveillance society (more so than we already live in) will increase exponentially with such a development, and will continue to increase as technology advances. Not really sure if we can put that cat back in the bag, at this point.

Google is a very disturbing entity! Never will I ever own a pair of google glasses!

Double post

a reply to: Wrabbit2000

Oh, yeah, there is THAT little detail to add to the pure altruism, huh?

Sorry? Refresh my memory please. Who said Google's motives were purely altruistic?

Have you ever come across the term enlightened self interest?

a reply to: elementalgrove

I don't know about the Google Glasses. Those? I may look into future generations of them. The 'Glasses' are just a very high dollar beta test anyway, for how it's actually playing out. However, in doing the research on this for a segment I did on the Reality Remix show, I'd quickly found where Google had also quickly patented contact lens variants of the same technology.

That's creepy in many ways, but one that caught my eye and really got my attention was the use of it for blind and other disabled people. That would be a life changing device for that community if developed out in the way the paperwork on all that suggested.

Google's Company motto is simply Don't Be Evil. On the scale they are getting to cover in not only market share but whole markets? I hope they're still closer to that than what some speculate.

Google is pure evil and they go on about the government spying on people and yet about every page people view on the internet contains ga.js that includes 5000 lines of spy-scripts and is used to pull any information available from your machines and this is then uploaded back to Google.

Google is doctering search results not just to place adverts at the top but to swing elections and they hide 90% of the internet on page 50.

Just doing a DNS reverse lookup on most of the google ip address should convince anyone that they are upto no good else they would not try to hide themselves so Google can stick its "Google earth" vans steeling MAC addresses, its spy drones and its 180 satellites.

Microsoft gives away windows free of charge looking at the number of pirate copies people run and Google can give away free bandwidth but it's all free canndy and is the type drug pushers try to give away outside our schools.

originally posted by: elementalgrove
Google is a very disturbing entity! Never will I ever own a pair of google glasses!

Unless we stop them by warning others then every one, starting with checkout till workers will be forced to ware these things or they won't have a job to go too.

It's elf 'n saftey you know and for your own protection

a reply to: Wrabbit2000

I had not thought about the glasses at all up until I was talking with a cousin of mine who is an ex-marine. He brought up the glasses in the context of the RFID chip. The conversation basically went like this, think about it, first they get everyone addicted to the smart phone tech, proof of this addiction is in the lack of eye contact with anyone these days! Next introduce the glasses, makes things more convenient no hands, all that tech right there, makes you look cool, same process the iphones went through. Next step which I had not heard of was the context lens! Naturally the next step would end the need for so many of the hassels you have in your day to day, it will be a chip centrally located that can simplify all aspects of your life, not only would you want this, you would need it! Roll out the films with your favorite actress/actors all loving it and bam! 1/3 of america could have implants in the next 10 years

Fits in with the fabian approach of directing society. They have tried to introduce the chips a few times but people refuse them, I believe you can get my medical information just fine without it. The whole cool new tech approach is what concerns me, it will work on a lot of people!

As far as helping the disabled, that is a wonderful thing and if it could be kept to that purpose that would be great, however as with so many other aspects of our society and good that is done is usually accompanied with things far worse that people would simply rather not know about.

Sorry about being so off topic! Put simply I do not trust google placing 180 satellites in space to "help the poor people who can not access the internet"

While wary of Googles motives I have to say I welcome this. I moved from an area with FIOS to an area where I have to use satellite internet and it blows. Satellite internet companies have been screwing their customers pretty hard. It reminds me of cell phone service plans in the 90s due to the lack of competition I suppose. You get charged for overages and have to pay for tokens to reset your download limits which are meager.

On another note a rep from ATT told me that they are sort of letting their land lines errode to force people to adopt their mobile services. I say yay for more options.

All theories aside for a second, although this a nice thought of giving access to the world; the issue still stands.

Whats the point in "free" access etc if they do not have a device to use it on? If they have never used it before then what are the chances of them having laptops / smartphones ready to use?

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Wrabbit2000

Oh, yeah, there is THAT little detail to add to the pure altruism, huh?

Sorry? Refresh my memory please. Who said Google's motives were purely altruistic?

Have you ever come across the term enlightened self interest?

Very True.

I can support Google's socially-responsible ideas -- but I never view them, or any for-profit corporation, as being "altruistic". The decision-makers at a publicly-owned corporation (such as Google) have a fiduciary responsibility to the corporation's shareholders to create and sustain profits for those shareholders.

Granted, the board of directors of Google, or any other openly-traded corporation, can act independently (as a group) and do things in an unorthodox manner in order to do what they feel is "for the greater good" of the corporation. Some of those things they do may have socially positive consequences, but at the end of the day, everything they do is to increase profits for shareholders. It is their fiduciary duty to do so.

One way to increase those profits may be to position themselves as a socially-responsible corporation, because some consumers feel that is important, and would rather do business with that type of corporation -- but the desired end-result for a corporation being socially responsible is usually for sustaining profits...

..i.e., they see that making themselves into the socially-responsible company is something consumers want, and is a niche that they can fill that other similar companies have not yet filled. They may simply see this perception of being socially responsible as being something the consumers want -- there it is good for profits. They are filling a niche that consumers will be willing to pay for.

a reply to: NihilistSanta

lol... Okay.. They can go ahead and do that. It does my heart good to hear it for how much I dislike AT&T. If they want to let their land lines erode... Dandy! It'll hasten their demise. I've been watching our Cable company lay fiber for the last 18 months all over the city and my last personal download speed here was 75mbps. I'm only paying 50dn/10up on the highest I could get short of business service, but it's half again faster than that now.

All the while, I have a neighbor across the street who is on AT&T and can't stop bitching. They're slow, sloppy and can't get out of their own way. (Kinda how some people drive). Anyway.. I've seen them running fiber down our secondary cross street less than 50 meters away, so I do believe they are intending to roll out for more than just business (really have already in some limited way). I can't wait.

@ Thread

In terms of Google and the disabled. The way the contact lens patent I am thinking of was described to work was a contact lens based camera for the blind or near blind. It would then be scanning for things like cars or other large objects moving in a conflicting way in relation to the wearer. All basic stuff for a computer to determine, but this shrinks it and communicates it (they eventually hope) in a way that will fill critical gaps which no cane ever can and a service animal just doesn't give that type of independence with. Life changing..

It's a mixed bag on that In think.

I doubt they will give us anything FREE. The corporate masters wouldn’t allow that in this era.

Google is just one of the “chosen” that is to be among the select few corporate masters who will inherit the power in the age where the massive consolidation will take place.

Google, Wall Mart, Microsoft, ATT, etc., and others amongst probably 300 super corporations

THE NEW GODS!

originally posted by: Willtell
I doubt they will give us anything FREE. The corporate masters wouldn’t allow that in this era.

Google is just one of the “chosen” that is to be among the select few corporate masters who will inherit the power in the age where the massive consolidation will take place.

Google, Wall Mart, Microsoft, ATT, etc., and others amongst probably 300 super corporations

THE NEW GODS!

These corporations are large because a majority of consumers buy their products and services...

i.e., they got where they are because they provide something that we -- the consumer -- are willing to pay for.

a reply to: Wrabbit2000

Google will also be in a position to offer its products and services to vast new markets.

Asteroid mining posts maybe?

[The 2/3 of the world without internet access also has no money. They're poor. Really poor. Many poor people find it necessary to sell their organs and girl children to afford food and water for the rest of the family. I doubt internet access is high on the priority list, even at pennies per day.]



F&S&

a reply to: DeadSeraph
They won't. Latencies would be horrible. These are meant to get cheap internet into the hands of poor people that can become new google customers. They are not for rich western consumers to watch netflix.

This is worrying and promising at the same time. I really want to like Google, but man their power is just intimidating.