Loon sends Internet connection balloons to Kenya

Loon launched balloons like this one, which are now on their way to Kenya. — Loon

The fruition of a project that has been a decade in the making, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, which is the parent company of Google, has launched a number of balloons which are already on their way to the skies over Kenya, where they will provide 4G internet access.

The solar-powered balloons launched from Puerto Rico and Nevada by Loon, a subsidiary of the same company that owns Google, are now on their way to Kenya, flying in the stratosphere at an altitude of around 20,000 meters. In the wake of extensive tests, this is the first time that the balloons have been officially launched with a view to providing a commercial service in partnership with a local operator, Telkom Kenya.