Facebook will provide broadband from a constellation of satellites

Facebook plans to provide broadband access to remote areas from a constellation of satellites sent into a low orbit. Massive satellites in high orbit are already used to provide internet to unserved and underserved regions, but it usually results in slow connections. Facebook and other companies hope satellites in lower orbit, formed in a cluster, will yield faster speeds. According to emails obtained from the Federal Communications Commission in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by WIRED, Facebook wants to launch Athena, its own internet satellite, in early 2019. The new device is designed to “efficiently provide broadband access to unserved and underserved areas throughout the world”.