ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Infrastructure / Networking

Solar-powered planes for 3G and broadband

By Graeme Wearden, ZDNet.co.uk, 23 July, 2002 14:50

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

aeroplanes, pathfinder-plus, skytower, solar-powered, Broadband

NEWS
A US-based technology firm is planning to launch unmanned solar-powered aeroplanes that would provide broadband Internet access and 3G mobile services to whole cities from 70,000 feet above the ground. SkyTower announced on Tuesday that over the last few weeks it had successfully carried out a number of tests that suggest broadcasters and mobile telecoms operators could use its stratospheric telecommunication platform commercially. Working with NASA and the Japanese Ministry of Telecommunciations, SkyTower launched a solar-power plane called Pathfinder-Plus. After climbing to 65,000 feet above the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the unmanned Pathfinder-Plus transmitted several hours of third-generation mobile voice, data and video service to the ground, where it was received on a standard NTT DoCoMo 3G handset. According to Stuart Hindle, vice-president of strategy and business development at SkyTower, the success of the tests shows that SkyTower's planes could complement, and in some cases supersede, satellite and terrestrial telecoms systems. "The airborne platform, operating above the weather and commercial air traffic, is equivalent to a 12-mile-tall tower, which means significant advantages to telecom service providers and broadcasters," said Hindle in a statement. Because the signal is being transmitted from directly or almost directly above, the SkyTower system will cover areas that cannot receive satellite or terrestrial signals because large buildings or other obstacles are obstructing them. The upper wing of the Pathfinder-Plus vehicle is made up of solar panels, which generate the energy to remain in flight throughout the day. Currently, the plane must land at night but SkyTower is trying to create fuel cells that would store enough energy to allow the plane to stay in position circling a city overnight. Such fuel cells could enable an airplane to stay in the air for up to six months at a time, SkyTower believes. According to SkyTower, which is part of solar-powered vehicles pioneer AeroVironment, a commercial launch of its service could take place in 2005. SkyTower claims that the extremely tight turning circle of the Pathfinder-Plus means that the plane stays within a small area throughout its flight -- so users on the ground won't have to keep moving their receiving equipment to track it. This suggests that SkyTower's technology is ideal for broadband fixed wireless access and digital television services, but the company believes it should be of interest to 3G operators as well. "Given the amount of money that wireless service providers have spent on spectrum licences for both fixed and mobile applications, these SkyTower tests should be of great interest," Hindle said. "Imagine launching a single platform, having instant metropolitan-wide market coverage, and eliminating the terrestrial costs associated with tower build-outs and backhaul," he added. AeroVironment has been working on solar-powered plans for many years, including Helios -- a solar-powered plane somewhat similar to Pathfinder-Plus. Last year Helios flew to 96,500 feet, higher than any non-rocket-powered plane had ever managed before.
For a round-up of everything from local loop unbundling and broadband to the latest in GPRS and 3G phones and networks, see the Telecoms News Section. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Telecoms forum . Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Related stories

Broadband takes to the sky

Ofcom to make it easier to change broadband service

Google set to build backbone of its 1Gbps fibre network

Nicira reveals network virtualisation details

MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 hour ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

7 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

9 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

9 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

11 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

11 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

12 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

12 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

13 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

13 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

14 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

14 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

14 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

14 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

17 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

18 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

19 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

20 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

21 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

22 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Latest in Networking

Ofcom to make it easier to change broadband service

Google set to build backbone of its 1Gbps fibre network

Nicira reveals network virtualisation details

Featured white papers

Six iPad tests for multimedia-grade Wi-Fi

Aruba Networks

Six iPad tests for multimedia-grade Wi-Fi

The University of Ottawa, Apple, Aruba Networks and others validate a multimedia grade Wi-Fi environment for scaling voice and video... Read more

Enterprise wireless networks add speed with 802.11n

Aruba Networks

Enterprise wireless networks add speed with 802.11n

This Aruba white paper explains the advanced technology introduced in the 'final' 802.11n certification, allowing enterprise network managers to understand its benefits and to plan their own upgrade... Read more

Solution Brief: Top 5 Reasons to Choose Blue Coat WAN Optimization

Blue Coat Systems

Solution Brief: Top 5 Reasons to Choose Blue Coat WAN Optimization

There's a pretty good chance your wide area network (WAN) looks like a mess right now. The rapid adoption of... Read more

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault