Alphabet’s Loon Commercial Internet Service is Live in Kenya

Alphabet’s Loon announced that it has begun providing internet service in Kenya to Telkom Kenya subscribers via its high-altitude balloons. This is both the first deployment of  balloon-powered internet in Africa and first-ever non-emergency use of Loon connecting over 35,000 unique users, and providing OTT voice/video calling, streaming, and web connectivity. This service is being delivered over 50,000 square kilometers across the country with a fleet of 35 flight vehicles deployed in the stratosphere above eastern Africa. Loon’s CEO expects terrestrial, stratospheric, and space-based technologies should work in tandem to seamlessly deliver internet service to various parts of the earth and different use-cases.