Lecture 6:

Airborne Internet and others

1
Airborne Internet
• Satellite Internet access already commonplace
• Satellites orbit at several hundreds of miles
above Earth
• Imagine airplane-like device at approximately
60,000 feet
• Aircraft will be undisturbed by inclement
weather and will be flying well above
commercial air traffic
Airborne Internet
Airborne Internet
• All satellite benefits without some of the
problems
• Consumers would get connections
comparable to Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
• High-speed wireless Internet connection by
placing aircraft in fixed pattern over city
• Could be lightweight planes (possibly
unmanned) or blimps
Airborne Internet

• Airborne Internet will function much like

satellite-based Internet access, but without
time delay
• Cost advantage over satellites – aircraft can
be deployed easily – do not have to be
launched into space
• Airborne Internet could even complement
satellite and ground-based networks, not
replace them
Impact and Opportunity?
• Impact: Possibility of constant connection to
network anywhere, any time
• Benefit: Ease of connecting all computers
and related devices
• Challenges:
How to make most efficient use of the
computing power, software, and tools
always available
How to build the most useful software
and tools
Internet Technology
Application Service Provider
(ASP)
• Access over the Internet to applications
and services that would otherwise have to
be located on one’s own personal computer
• Email, text editor, financial modeling
software, Computer Aided Design (CAD)
software, simulation software,…..
 Storage Service Provider (SSP)

• Centralized data storage, which will increase efficiency and

ease of access to information, as well as synchronization of
information among users and machines
• Wherever you are, that is your computer!
The Next Generation Internet
About 120 universities and 25 corporate
sponsors are working on better Internet
infrastructure “Internet 2”
The Next Generation Internet
• Larger bandwidth
• Faster speeds
• Better reliability
• Better security
• Better compression techniques (smaller files to
be transmitted)
• Caching – leaving copies around closer to the
point of need
• All developments will eventually become part
of standard internet