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Test aircraft in Tussenhausen, Bavaria, in early October
Photo: Wolfram Scheible / Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom plans to soon supply its customers with mobile communications and the Internet from the stratosphere.
Together with the British start-up Stratospheric Platforms Limited (SPL), voice and data connections in 4G quality via a platform flying on the edge of the stratosphere have been successfully tested, the Bonn-based Dax group announced on Monday.
This was successful in several test flights at the beginning of October in Bavaria at an altitude of 14 kilometers.
"We have shown that we can bring fast Internet and connectivity everywhere in the future," said the head of the telecommunications infrastructure
subsidiary
Deutsche Funkturm,
Bruno Jacobfeuerborn
(60), who is also on the supervisory board of SPL.
The aim is to close dead spots in remote areas in this way.
So far, the big US technology groups Facebook and Google have made a name for themselves with similar projects.
While Facebook has now crushed its program with the so-called Aquila drones, which were supposed to supply regions without network coverage with Internet, the world's largest search engine provider Google is sticking to its loon balloons.
It is about improving internet access worldwide, according to the Loon website, which mainly refers to projects in African countries such as Kenya and Mozambique.
Telekom expects the high-flying platforms, which are to be carried by remote-controlled aircraft, to complement the existing mobile network on the ground - especially in more remote areas such as the mountains.
During the tests, a smartphone was connected to Telekom's terrestrial cellular network via the antennas on the aircraft.
Due to the altitude and the almost unobstructed view of the ground, according to Telekom, an aircraft can supply radio cells with a diameter of up to 100 kilometers with special antennas.
The customer should not be aware of the transition from a classic cell phone mast to a flying antenna.
SPL, of which Telekom is the largest shareholder, is currently working on the development of a hydrogen-powered remote-controlled aircraft that will operate as a mobile radio mast in the stratosphere and enable 4G as well as 5G network coverage.
According to SPL, the platform is around 60 meters wide, which is roughly the span of a Boeing 747, but weighs only 3.5 tons.
According to its own information, SPL is currently in the middle of talks for a new financing round.
The start-up, which was founded six years ago, is planning its first flight in mid-2022. Operations should then start in 2024.
ak / Reuters