Facebook Tipped In Acquisition Talks With Titan Aerospace

An acquisition that may power Facebook’s own attempt at providing inexpensive Internet across the globe

Facebook is in the news again. Recent reports imply that Facebook has shown keen interest in acquiring Titan Aerospace, a renowned maker of drones for USD 60 million.

This acquisition may be seeped in the interest of “Internet.org” initiative, whose goal is to bring Internet access to regions and geographies that are not properly connected or have very expensive and limited options.

Post the acquisition, Titan Aerospace will reportedly be solely manufacturing for the Internet.org project.

Titan Aerospace is a private venture founded in 2012, with R&D facilities based in New Mexico. Max Yaney founded it, to provide a solution by using UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to share the work of Near-Earth satellites, at a lower cost.
His aim was to have the drones at an altitude of 60,000 feet and higher and thus aid or even replace the Near-Earth satellites.

A drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle whose flight can be controlled either autonomously by an onboard computer or by remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. Drones have primarily been used for weather monitoring, earth imaging, geographical mapping and communications.

Titan Aerospace currently make Near-Orbital drones that operate on solar power with a capability to launch at night utilizing the power from internal batteries and then switch to solar power during the day, thereby stocking up on expended energy.

The drones (Solara 60 models, that have been chosen by Facebook) have a wingspan of 164 feet, weighing around 350 pounds and with a carrying capacity of more than 250 pounds with speeds of 64 miles per hour at an altitude of 60,000 feet.

FAA does not regulate airspace above 60,000 feet, so this would give Facebook a relative ease of navigation. Since they are low maintenance and are solar powered, the drones can stay aloft for up-to 5 years without having to re-fuel!

Now moving back away, to see the bigger picture — Internet.org.

Internet.org is an ambitious Mark Zuckerberg project in partnership with companies like Nokia and Qualcomm, aiming to reduce the cost of Internet across the world and connect “the next five billion people” to the web.

Facebook may be looking at providing weak, but free Internet to developing geographies, allowing them to set up basic communications infrastructure.

Facebook would likely want to use the drones and give wireless Internet access to remote geographies, starting with Africa. This will positively benefit nations, giving them access to the world wide web and enable global connectivity.

However it will also be a huge gain for Facebook as it could tap into new users in these region and help bring onto the thriving (but slowly slowing down) Facebook platform.

Facebook is already working on a mobile version which could be used by feature phones with weak internet connections — and it is believed that Facebook’s recently acquisition of Onavo, (who innovate in the data compression space), is a step in that direction.

In related news, Facebook and WhatsApp are said to be readying basic versions of their apps to enable people in less-developed regions and those who use basic handsets, to log on and share stuff on Facebook, without paying for the Internet!

While phones themselves have become less expensive, however the Data cost (coupled with the issues with mobile data network availability) has not moved much; this could be an important step in that direction.

So if Facebook does go through on this acquisition it would put them into direct competition with Google own “Project Loon”.

Project Loon works on the same line (initiatives) that is to provide Internet via a network of high altitude weather balloons.

So, it can be said that these two rival each other. The difference being that Project Loon’s balloons float in the stratosphere and use the varying layers of the wind to blow the balloons where they are needed, whereas Titan Aerospace’s drones will circle the earth at 60,000 feet.

With Google and Facebook, both working on providing inexpensive Internet across the globe, the user seems to be the biggest beneficiary.

Soon, anyone from anywhere with adequate technology could be connected to a worldwide communication and knowledge grid, allowing them to communicate, learn, share, collaborate to make their lives better!

Originally published at Chip-Monks.