Airborne Wireless Network (ABWN)

[beer$$money]

Huge number of direct connections here because of the small number of players developing & using light to wirelessly transmit internet signals. Facebook has shut down the drone Aquila project last week?
Google shut down its Internet Drone Project Jan 2017 and is now considering that Alphabet might spin-off Project Loon? Loon is using giant balloon's at higher altitudes.

No one is doing what Airborne Wireless is doing.The Infinitus Super Highway! This makes them a huge aquisition target!

Airborne Wireless Plans to Demonstrate First-Ever 10 Gbps Hybrid Radio Frequency (RF)-controlled and Free Space Optics (FSO)-linked Proprietary Technology.

"This is a significant milestone for the Company as it will be a first-of-its-kind demonstration," said Michael Warren, CEO of Airborne Wireless Network. "The goal of this demonstration is to test how quickly the Company's patent-pending algorithms can resynchronize the optical link and transfer large data files. Our sophisticated software technology will be used to take thousands of samples and calculate the precise location of each aircraft assigned to the mesh network. We think of our FSO technology as fiber optics without the fiber."


Facebook conducted successful airborne tests of lasers capable of beaming wireless internet in the skies of California — and it points towards the future of the company's connectivity efforts following the closure of its high-profile drone program.

The American technology giant mounted experimental hardware it developed with a German supplier (Mynaric) to a Cessna jet.

The details of the tests were disclosed in an academic journal in February 2018 but have not otherwise been reported.

Here is an Abstract of that Academic Report:

Within the scope of the FALCON project Mynaric Lasercom GmbH, in collaboration with Facebook Inc., has built two laser terminals for optical communications: One airborne terminal MLT-70-ATG and one optical ground station GS-200. Both terminals are designed to establish communications between the stratosphere and ground. The athermalized design of the MLT-70-ATG, its efficient temperature management system and an optimized dynamic behavior for high-altitude platforms qualify Mynaric’s system to be easily integrated into carriers that fly up to tens of kilometers. The GS-200 achieves and sustains fast and reliable free-space data transfer links between the airborne segment and ground. It is designed for outdoor operations and is mounted on a stationary stable platform. A flight campaign executed by both companies has demonstrated a 10 Gbps bidirectional error-free link between the airborne laser communication terminal and the optical ground station in a representative scenario.

http://spie.org/Publications/Proceedings/Paper/10.1117/12.2306191

This is from Mynaric Annual Report 2017
MARCH 2017
Mynaric signs MOU with Airborne Wireless Network Inc. to transform in-flight connectivity

( The FALCON project Mynaric Lasercom GmbH, in collaboration with Facebook Inc., used the same lasers that are being used by Airborne Wireless)

A Memorandum of Understanding is signed with California-based Airborne Wireless Network with a view to integrating Mynaric’s series of airborne laser communication terminals into the Infinitus Super Highway, a
proposed fully-meshed airborne broadband system that will fundamentally change the future of in-flight connectivity.

AUGUST 2017
Mynaric signs Design and Manufacturing Services Agreement with Airborne Wireless Network Inc.

Mynaric formally enters into a design and manufacturing services agreement with Airborne Wireless
Network to integrate its series of airborne laser communication terminals into the Infinitus Super Highway.


DECEMBER 2017
Mynaric delivers laser terminal flight units for upcoming flight test for Airborne Wireless Network

Mynaric confirms shipment of two laser terminal flight units, and associated components, to Airborne Wireless Network. The laser terminals will be utilized in a two-plane test to demonstrate the ability of aircraft to act as airborne repeaters/routers – actively sending and receiving broadband signals from one aircraft to another.


May 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Airborne Wireless Network (OTCQB:ABWN) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company's FAA Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) recently received approval from the FAA to coordinate the Company's proprietary 10 Gbps Hybrid RF-controlled and FSO-linked flight testing.

The FAA approval enables the Company to proceed with the modification and installation of its Infinitus Super HighwaySM equipment onto two Cessna 172 flight test aircraft. In addition, the FAA has provided concurrence with the proposed flight test routing and flight test operating area.

"This is a significant milestone for the Company as it will be a first-of-its-kind demonstration," said Michael Warren, CEO of Airborne Wireless Network. "The goal of this demonstration is to test how quickly the Company's patent-pending algorithms can resynchronize the optical link and transfer large data files.

https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/airborne-wireless-network-receives-faa-approval-to-conduct-cessna-flight-tests-20180530-00459

Facebook abandons quest to build its own internet drones Last Week!

The social network’s Aquila project will no longer involve drones it designs and develops itself
Jun 26, 2018,

he Aquila project conducted two public, high-profile test flights of a prototype drone, the first of which in 2016 resulted in serious damage to the aircraft during its landing. Now, instead of building aircraft of its own, Facebook says it will now focus on working with partners on high-altitude internet delivery systems and on policy matters related to securing spectrum and establishing federal rules around the operation of such systems.

Update June 26th, 7:28PM ET: Clarified that the Aquila project itself will continue with Facebook’s partners, and that the company is abandoning just the goal of designing and building its own drones in-house.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/26/17507826/facebook-aquila-internet-drone-project-shut-down


Google confirms end of internet drone project

Google has confirmed it has closed its internet drone project Titan, three years after it bought the business.

The drones were designed to bring the internet to remote rural areas, complementing its Loon project - a similar initiative using hot air balloons.

However, the solar-powered vehicles have faced technical difficulties and funding challenges.

On Wednesday, blog 9to5 Google revealed Titan had actually shut in early 2016.

A statement from X, the Google division responsible for Titan, confirmed the news.

"Titan was brought into X in late 2015. We ended our exploration of high altitude unmanned aerial vehicles for internet access shortly after," it said.

"By comparison, at this stage the economics and technical feasibility of Project Loon present a much more promising way to connect rural and remote parts of the world."

Google acquired Titan Aerospace in 2014, reportedly fending off a bid from Facebook, which has also been in trials for internet-providing drones.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38596974

New hints that Alphabet might spin-off Project Loon


New clues that Alphabet may be looking to spin-off Project Loon, its internet-beaming weather balloon unit, comes from a rather unexpected source: The attendee list for this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC).

The official app for MWC has a searchable index of everyone attending the telecoms trade show in Barcelona this week. As part of our MWC coverage, Quartz was searching it to see who from Google/Alphabet was coming. We came across multiple Loon employees, which is currently a project within X, Alphabet’s “moonshot” research division. A few had job titles that didn’t match what they list on on LinkedIn. That’s not necessarily unusual, but intriguing nonetheless.

https://qz.com/1215494/alphabet-may-spin-off-project-loon-according-to-hints-in-the-mobile-world-congress-app/