TOKYO -- Japanese telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank is working toward the commercialization of "airborne base stations" with the possibility of conducting test flights in Japan as early as in 2021. Unmanned aircraft serving as base stations will fly in the stratosphere at altitudes of 20 km to provide global mobile communication services.
SoftBank subsidiary HAPSMobile has been working to achieve commercialization by fiscal 2023 and is promoting of the technology.
