Govt. discussions this week to return Google Loon to SL

Wednesday, 18 July 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Harin tells Parliament talks to be held with International Telecommunications Union to resolve licensing issue

The Google Loon Project, which came to a halt with a communications balloon coming down in February 2016, is expected to recommence based on the outcome of discussions scheduled with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

According to Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment Minister Harin Fernando the discussions with ITU will iron out the licensing issue enabling Sri Lanka to have the Google Loon project back in the country. “The Google Loon project was intended to cover the entire Sri Lanka with 4G and to reduce the number of towers. The balloon didn’t crash but it was brought down. Unfortunately, Sri Lankans took this as a joke. Google is a large company with an economy larger than our national economy. Now there is a licensing issue raised by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL). We are meeting the ITU this week for a solution. As soon as the matter is sorted we are looking at bringing the Google Loon project back to Sri Lanka,” he said.

Prior to launching Google Loon in Sri Lanka, the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) entered into an agreement with Google Loon LLC and its affiliates Lotus Flare Ltd., Rama Co. to conduct testing of the balloon within Sri Lankan airspace.

“The Government of Sri Lanka has not incurred any costs in this project. The balloon which entered into Sri Lankan airspace did not crash but it was a controlled, preplanned landing with the involvement of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. The balloon has nothing to do with the WiFi hotspots the Government promised,” he added.

Project Loon is a research and development program being developed by X (formerly Google X) with the mission of providing Internet access to rural and remote areas. Users of the service connect to the balloon network using a special Internet antenna attached to their building.