Facebook has today announced that it has completed building an aircraft ready for testing that is capable of delivering internet connectivity.
Facebook's Connectivity Labs has been busy building a full-scale version of 'Aquila,' which is designed to be a high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft that can circle a region up in the air for up to 90 days using solar power alone.
The unmanned drone-like aircrafts will be able to beam down internet connectivity from an altitude of 60,000 to 90,000 feet.
"Our goal is to accelerate the development of a new set of technologies that can drastically change the economics of deploying internet infrastructure," Facebook said in its announcement.
Going remote
But Facebook has no intention of become an internet service provider.
"Our intention is not to build networks and then operate them ourselves, but rather to quickly advance the state of these technologies to the point that they become viable solutions for operators and other partners to deploy," the social network giant said.
The project is part of Facebook's larger project of finding new ways to deliver solutions in parts of the world where basic internet connectivity, as the company noted that about 10% of the world's population live in remote regions with no internet infrastructure at all.
Facebook has also built and tested a laser that can deliver data at 10Gb per second, which can be used on Aquila-type planes to connect to each other as well as the regions they circle.
The company has previously launched Internet.org, which provides free internet access to developing countries as well.
- News of Facebook's planes turned up last year
