Facebook hails UK drone-delivered wireless internet test

LONDON (ShareCast) - Facebook (NasdaqGS: FB - news) chief Mark Zuckerberg said a recent UK test of solar-powered drones could soon see them deliver wireless internet to remote spots around the globe. On Thursday, speaking at the F8 summit in San Francisco, Zuckerberg said that a drone prototype, named "Aquila (Paris: FR0010340711 - news) ", had been successfully tested in Britain in what was considered a milestone in an internet.org project to deliver internet access to billions of people worldwide.

"Aircraft like these will help connect the whole world because they can affordably serve the 10 percent of the world's population that live in remote communities without existing Internet infrastructure," Zuckerberg added in a post on his Facebook timeline.

Speaking at the same event, Facebook chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer said that the drone weighed approximately as much as a small car and had a wingspan greater than that of a Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) 737 jet.

"The idea is to loiter over an area for months at a time and beam down internet service," he said, adding than between one and three billion people lacked internet access around the world.

Zuckerberg added that drones will be able to fly at altitudes of 60,000 and higher and could remain aloft for months, indicating that Facebook had plans to build data centres aimed at providing online services to those without internet access.

Facebook shares were up 0.31% to $83.27 at 11:30 in New York on Friday.