Facebook is working on delivering internet globally via a bunch of drones, satellites and lasers. According to founder Mark Zuckerberg internet signals will be beamed down from a plane or a satellite flying overhead, which will communicate to earth using accurate lasers to transfer data. Interestingly, just last month it was reported that Facebook was backing out of its plan to build satellites to provide internet access. The satellites would apparently have cost an estimated $500 million, a cost too prohibitive for the company. The same report also mentions this cancellation was unrelated to Zuckerberg’s 2014 discussion on satellites helping deliver Internet for Internet.org. Although there are no further details on the current plan, it's worth noting that Facebook had acquired the UK based aerospace company Ascentra in 2014, to help it build connectivity aircraft. Ascentra had previously build the early versions of Zephyr, an unmanned solar-powered aircraft. However, there have been no further updates on this front either. OneWeb initiative: OneWeb, which recently raised $500 million from Bharti Enterprises, Virgin Atlantic and other investors, plans to provide high speed internet access globally via 648 satellites it intends to launch by 2019. The company, formerly known as WorldVu, plans to provide small user terminals which will connect to these satellites and transmit internet to the surrounding areas through LTE, WiFi, 2G and 3G. The company mentions its small cell terminals will be 3GPP compatible, enabling them for use with various telecom operators using their existing infrastructure. Google’s project Loon: In February…
