Gloria's Scoop

When cordless/mobile phones first rolled up in the late 1990s, it was monumental, and it indeed took a bit of time for Ugandans here to come to terms with this idea that you could talk to someone far away without needing a wire to connect the ends. Anyway, scientists have never let up. Their obsession had since been to completely do away with wires and, of course, where there’s a will there’s always a way.

Facebook, one of the primary backers of the Internet.org initiative, which aims to bring affordable Internet access to the 5 billion people in the world that who still lack connectivity, is in talks with a company that could help further that agenda. Sources say that Facebook is buying Titan Aerospace makers of near-orbital, solar-powered drones which can fly for five years without needing to land. According to a source with access to information about the deal, the price for this acquisition is $60 million. Facebook is apparently interested in using these high-flying drones to blanket parts of the world without Internet access, beginning with Africa. The company would start by building 11,000 of these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), specifically the “Solara 60” model. These drones are ”atmospheric satellites” that can conduct most of the operations of an orbital satellite, but are cheaper and more versatile. The drones cou...