Latest Summer Repeat: Wireless Broadband Blimps

Overhype

from the same-old-song dept

The dog days of August bring about plenty of new versions of old tech stories, and this week is no different, with one of our favorite hot-air stories coming up again: the good old stratellite, a giant blimp that can supposedly blanket an area the size of Texas with wireless broadband. The story dates back nearly four years, and despite plenty of press releases, nothing much in the way of actual progess appears to have happened, the least of which being the claim last January that the company would launch the service in Peru. The only difference now is that supposedly tests are scheduled for later this month in the Mojave Desert, which doesn’t make it sound like the stratellites are really any closer to a commercial launch than they’ve ever been. As an added bonus, the original story throws in a section about another, similar, long-promised idea: wireless coverage via reusable balloons. But, just like the stories about these technologies don’t change, neither does our skepticism.