SoftBank and Alphabet units to team up on airborne base station

'Pseudo-satellite' would bring 5G mobile coverage to remote areas

20190521 Loon internet balloon

A Loon internet balloon is seen at a Google developers conference. Loon was born out of Google X, an Alphabet division tasked with conducting advanced research and development. © Reuters

TAKAFUMI HOTTA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- A unit of SoftBank and Loon, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, are joining forces to set up an airborne wireless base station 20 km above ground, in a move that promises to expand high-speed mobile access in remote areas.

The base station would be launched into the stratosphere aboard an unmanned aircraft, and would be compatible with 5G services.

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