Google has spun off a new company, Aalyria, that will use advanced networking and laser communications technologies to manage complex networks spanning terrestrial and non-terrestrial communications. The new company is commercializing technologies developed by Loon LLC, an Alphabet Inc. subsidiary that was created to provide internet access to remote areas using high-altitude balloons. It ceased operations early in 2021.
Aalyria has an intelligent network orchestration technology, known as Spacetime, and an advanced atmospheric laser communications technology, called Tightbeam. Networks of ground stations, aircraft, satellites, ships, and urban meshes can be managed by Spacetime, which optimizes and continually evolves the antenna link scheduling, network traffic routing, and spectrum resources. Tightbeam’s coherent light laser moves data through the atmosphere and weather, offering connectivity where no supporting infrastructure exists.
Together, the technologies enable complex networks with up to 15 million possible links and wireless connection speeds up to 1.6 Tbps. In the future, it will facilitate the coordination and sharing of network resources across multiple networks with unlimited connections.
Aalyria has already secured an initial $8 million contract with the Defense Innovation Unit to help develop secure internet connectivity throughout space for both private and public sector customers. Aalyria is currently working with commercial space companies and governments to make their networks more resilient and their spectrum more profitable.
In 2020, Loon partnered with AT&T to use high-altitude internet balloons to provide connectivity for disaster-stricken areas in more than 50 countries and regions in conjunction with terrestrial-based cellular networks. However, early in 2021, Google announced that high costs and low interest have dashed prospects for Loon and that the enterprise was not commercially viable.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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