Alphabet bursts its balloon-powered internet plans

Alphabet’s moonshot idea of beaming internet connectivity from giant balloons is floating back down to earth. The Google parent company announced that it’s shutting down the Loon project because the business model is unsustainable. “The road to commercial viability has proven much longer and riskier than hoped,” said Astro Teller, who leads Alphabet’s experimental X lab, in a Thursday blog post. “So we’ve made the difficult decision to close down Loon.” The ambitious venture aimed to deliver affordable internet access to unconnected, remote, and underserved areas. [Read: How this company leveraged AI to become the Netflix of Finland] The balloons were equipped with directional…

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