Using Balloons For Cellular Coverage In Rural Areas

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/30/D8FF53180.html">http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/30/D8FF53180.html</a><br /><br />There are places in North America where you can have hundreds and thousands of square miles of sparsely populated areas, and it just doesn't make financial sense for cell phone providers to erect expensive towers in these areas when only a few people will make use of it. The only reason these people haven landlines is the US government subsidized the cost to run copper out to their houses by having those in urban areas foot the bill.<br /><br /><i>"To cover every square mile of North Dakota, it would take 1,100 cell towers," Schafer said. "We can do the whole state with three balloons." If successful, the hydrogen-filled balloons could be drifting across the stratosphere above North Dakota this summer, providing cellular coverage at a tiny fraction of the cost of building cellular towers."</i>

[ricksfiona]

Seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Ed Hansberry]

Seems like a no-brainer to me.
After thinking about it more... well, it just seems like a lot of hot air.

[Mitch D]

What took them so long? This is a great idea...

[ADBrown]

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/30/D8FF53180.html

There are places in North America where you can have hundreds and thousands of square miles of sparsely populated areas, and it just doesn't make financial sense for cell phone providers to erect expensive towers in these areas when only a few people will make use of it. The only reason these people haven landlines is the US government subsidized the cost to run copper out to their houses by having those in urban areas foot the bill.

"To cover every square mile of North Dakota, it would take 1,100 cell towers," Schafer said. "We can do the whole state with three balloons." If successful, the hydrogen-filled balloons could be drifting across the stratosphere above North Dakota this summer, providing cellular coverage at a tiny fraction of the cost of building cellular towers."

These promises are too overoptimistic by far. I've run simulations on similar setups for deploying wireless internet. The bottom line is that while balloons are cheaper, they can't cover as large an area as a tower can. Because they're weight-limited, they can't carry as large an antenna, or as much hardware, so you still need to provide a support center on the ground. More to the point, just tethering them in place takes up a lot of your weight limit, and it's difficult to place directional panel antennas on them, which are more efficient than omnis for providing a downtilt. I don't think that this is going to work out for them the way they think it will.

[ramjet73]

Seems like a no-brainer to me.
After thinking about it more... well, it just seems like a lot of hot air.

It better not be too hot if they're using hydrogen in those ballons. :D

ramjet73

[Mitch D]

After thinking about it more... well, it just seems like a lot of hot air.

:twak: :wink:

[Ed Hansberry]

These promises are too overoptimistic by far. I've run simulations on similar setups for deploying wireless internet. The bottom line is that while balloons are cheaper, they can't cover as large an area as a tower can. Because they're weight-limited, they can't carry as large an antenna, or as much hardware, so you still need to provide a support center on the ground. More to the point, just tethering them in place takes up a lot of your weight limit, and it's difficult to place directional panel antennas on them, which are more efficient than omnis for providing a downtilt. I don't think that this is going to work out for them the way they think it will.
Did you read the same article I read? There is no tethering. They float up to 20 miles above the Earth, drift at speeds up to 30mph, and deliver data and voice service to an area several hundred miles in diameter. The communication pod is the size of a toaster, and they didn't run simulations. They floated real balloons and ran real tests.

[BugDude10]

And when the wind blows hard, *Montana* gets cell phone coverage!

[BugDude10]

They'd better tie them down or they'll all drift North. Because, you know, Canada SUCKS! (Just kidding, all my canook friends!)

[ADBrown]

Did you read the same article I read? There is no tethering. They float up to 20 miles above the Earth, drift at speeds up to 30mph, and deliver data and voice service to an area several hundred miles in diameter. The communication pod is the size of a toaster, and they didn't run simulations. They floated real balloons and ran real tests.

Hazards of commenting on the story without taking time to read more than the quote, I suppose. I still don't see how it could work. I know that you can talk to a balloon at that altitude using shortwave radio at standard power outputs, but I wouldn't think that a cell phone could reach that sort of distance without punching up either the gain or the power. (Shrug) Maybe I'm wrong, I've just gotten very cynical about promises of new techs that are supposed to deliver improved communications.

Edited to add: I should say, skimming the quote, since I overlooked the word "stratosphere." Pity me, it's been a very long and hectic day.

[ricksfiona]

These promises are too overoptimistic by far. I've run simulations on similar setups for deploying wireless internet. The bottom line is that while balloons are cheaper, they can't cover as large an area as a tower can. Because they're weight-limited, they can't carry as large an antenna, or as much hardware, so you still need to provide a support center on the ground. More to the point, just tethering them in place takes up a lot of your weight limit, and it's difficult to place directional panel antennas on them, which are more efficient than omnis for providing a downtilt. I don't think that this is going to work out for them the way they think it will.
Did you read the same article I read? There is no tethering. They float up to 20 miles above the Earth, drift at speeds up to 30mph, and deliver data and voice service to an area several hundred miles in diameter. The communication pod is the size of a toaster, and they didn't run simulations. They floated real balloons and ran real tests.

A no-brainer? I think so... :D

[mcsouth]

From the article: Once a balloon leaves the state, its toaster-size communications pod would jettison, deploy a parachute and fall to earth, where it would signal its position.

"We'd pay some guy a bounty, put in a new battery pack and send it off again," Knoblach said. Schafer said the repeater could be used indefinitely "unless it lands in a lake or gets run over by a truck."

Anyone know which way the stratospheric winds blow across North Dakota? having grown up in that region of the country, I can say without hesitation that there is a WHOLE lotta country around ND that is not heavily populated. Minnesota, SD, Iowa, Montana, Wyoming - Saskatchewan, Manitoba and northern Ontario to the north - there are large portions of all those states and provinces that are not heavily populated, so finding these things after the fact may be more challenging, unless they are planning to provide the transmitter frequency for the beacons. The bounty would have to be good to justify the cost of hunting these things down after they fall to earth, although I suppose some folks would pursue it just for something to do.

I suppose it's just as well that they test it in ND and surrounding areas - I don't think I would appreciate having balloons from NJ dropping their payloads on my head!

[dMores]

how thoughtful ... they don't just let the communications thingie fall to earth, but they give it a parachute.
still, i wouldn't want to be doing 100km/h on a highway and have one of those things land right in front of me.

they'd have to be equipped with a self-destruction device, to blow it all to bits no larger and heavier than a snowflake.

We'd pay some guy a bounty [...] lol :)

[Stik]

how thoughtful ... they don't just let the communications thingie fall to earth, but they give it a parachute. We'd pay some guy a bounty [...] lol :)

Is true!

Over the calendar year of 2005, SS Recovery Service LLC / www.skysite.com has paid out in excess of $93,000 to agents for SOG Recovery.

http://www.skysite.com/newframeinsideFRAME01.htm


" When the SkySite Platform® is moving out of its coverage area, SD first launches another SkySite Platform® to cover that area and then sends a signal to the first SkySite Platform® and it detaches from the biodegradable balloon and falls back to earth on a bright orange parachute. Once on the ground the SkySite payload sends its final GPS location back up to the next SkySite Platform® flying overhead.

SD then transmits SOG (SkySite Platform® On Ground) location data to SSRS and I post the “approximate” location data on the (4) website. Qualified “agents” visit the SSRS website and choose any of the SOG’s they wish to attempt recoveries for. To be qualified, you must submit a signed ICA/ROC (Independent Contractors Agreement / Rules Of Conduct) to SSRS, which are available on the SSRS website(4). "

http://www.skysite.com/learnmore01.htm