Facebook explored using a flock of small drones to increase phone data speeds

Facebook explored using a flock of small bird-sized drones to increase smartphone data speeds. The project, called "Catalina" was tested off the coast of California and was discontinued about a year ago.

Facebook has been exploring ways to increase mobile connectivity

The project was reported in the Business Insider. Facebook has been exploring ways to help increase mobile connectivity for years especially to bring more in developed countries to get online. While it could be seen as a humanitarian effort it also would help bring more into the company's app ecosystem.

The most visible Facebook projects have been its Internet.org initiative with its Free Basics and Express Wi-Fi for growing smartphone markets. There was also the discontinued Aquila project that was to fly large, solar-powered drones that could beam down Internet.

Catalina

A fleet of the bird-sized drones would be used to boost smartphone data speeds. The project was carried out in secret according to the Business Insider (BI). A recent Verge article says: "BI reports that the drones would be closer to the size of a sparrow, making them almost pocket-sized. The goal would not be to beam down a functioning internet connection to completely remote areas, but instead to augment existing, 2G-level connections to allow smartphone users to stream video and perform other more data-intensive tasks. It’s not clear how exactly that would have worked. The report describes the drones as designed to carry “high-density solid state drives... that could then be used to ferry data,” so perhaps the drones would act as a mesh network of sorts between a grounded connection and a user’s smartphone to facilitate high-bandwidth data transfers." Catalina is also described in this article.

Project Aquila

In March of 2015 Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg claimed there had been a successful test of a wide-wing solar-powered drone built to deliver wireless Internet services to remote locations. The test flight took place in the UK and was claimed to be a milestone in bringing online access to billions more people around the world. The drone has a wing span greater than that of a Boeing 737. The appended video from the summer of 2016 shows Aquila's first flight.

Previously published in the Digital Journal