The report said Facebook attempted to use internet drones to achieve similar objectives before shutting down that project in 2018.
Tech giant Amazon has hired more than a dozen wireless Internet experts from Facebook to boost its ambitious multi-billion dollar project to launch thousands of satellites and offer broadband service globally, reports The Information. A team has been acquired.
The report quoted a Facebook spokesperson as saying on Wednesday that employees of the social networking giant “moved to Amazon in April to help the company grow its network of low-orbit satellites by the middle of this decade.” “.
The workers are in the Los Angeles area and include physicists as well as optical, prototyping, mechanical and software engineers who previously worked on aeronautical systems and wireless networks, according to their LinkedIn pages.
Amazon paid Facebook undisclosed amount as part of acquisition
The report said Amazon paid Facebook an undisclosed amount as part of the acquisition, with more than a dozen Los Angeles-based employees switching companies in April to work on Project Kuiper.
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According to The Verge, the move puts an end to Facebook’s efforts to provide internet connectivity in remote areas through its satellites.
When it confirmed the initiative in 2018 the company said it believed the technology would “make it possible to bring broadband connectivity to rural areas where internet connectivity is lacking or non-existent”.
Facebook Shutdown Project in 2018
The report said Facebook attempted to use internet drones to achieve similar objectives before shutting down that project in 2018.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s ambition to provide internet via satellite came to the fore in 2019.
The company has said it expects to invest $10 billion to launch 3,236 satellites into low-Earth orbit by 2029, aiming to provide internet to “unserved and underserved communities around the world” .
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