There are still places in the world where the internet (and mobile telephony) does not reach. These are places like villages in mountainous and forested terrain in India, where the terrain makes the cost of fiber optics or radio unviable. The most common rural solution, satellites, requires huge and expensive equipment. All this is out of the question for poor communities that need not only access, but bandwidth for videos, which allows a real connection to the modern world. The solution: laser internet.

For years, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has been studying the subject. From a proposed complex solution, a minimalist idea emerged. When trying to use balloons to distribute internet via radio, in Project Loon, it was necessary to develop a communication system between the balloons. This was done with laser beams, and then the idea arose: why not transmit internet on land with a laser?

The so-called Taara Project is just that: a laser emitter that points at another, at a distance of up to 20 km. The towers require a direct line of sight of each other, so they are placed in high locations and could, in the event of a malicious attack, easily be disrupted. This could be a problem for one of the project's target locations, which are regions of military conflict.

But the cost of laser internet, compared to laying cables or setting up radio repeater stations or using balloons, is minimal. After a trial in India, as seen in the video above, Project Taara is now being rolled out in Kenya.

From: Engadget