Thanks to Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico's cellular infrastructure has been badly damaged. The FCC said yesterday that 83% of cell sites on the island are down, forcing carriers in the U.S. territory to employ backup methods in an effort to get their networks running. Late yesterday, Google parent Alphabet received permission from the FCC to use balloons to provide Puerto Rico with emergency cellular coverage.
How Project Loon works
Back in June 2013, Google launched Project Loon by sending balloons into the skies above New Zealand. The balloons were equipped with technology that would allow them to provide cellular service to remote areas where such service doesn't exist. In a filing with the FCC, Google wrote that it wanted approval to use the balloons to "support licensed mobile carriers’ restoration of limited communications capability" in Puerto Rico.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced on Friday the creation of a Hurricane Recovery Task Force that would focus on rebuilding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Pai said that this includes the "the rebuilding of communications infrastructure and restoration of communications services."
Get a free Galaxy A17 with Straight Talk. To claim this deal, you need to pair the phone with activation on a Silver Unlimited Plan or higher. This tier costs $45 per month. Offer valid through 01/10/27 while supplies last online.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: