[afnog] Stratospheric Broadband?

[Bill Woodcock]

    > Has anyone heard about this new way of deploying Internet access?

Yes, it's actually fairly ideal for small countries, or large 
metropolitan areas...  But several companies, most notably Aerovironment
(http://www.skytowerglobal.com/) have been in trials for upwards of five 
years, without any committed buyers.  These are far cheaper than launching 
a satellite, and they give low latency, and can be used for both cellular 
and data service, but they're still very, very expensive.  I'm guessing a 
reasonable constallation would cost between US$25M and US$50M.

                                -Bill