Balloon powered internet: Google X tests Project Loon pilot helium balloon in New Zealand

Codenamed Project Loon, Google has released helium filled balloons into the sky in the heart of New Zealand’s South Island as part of an experiment to get the planet online by beaming the internet down to earth. The balloons, which are fifteen metres in diameter when inflated, fly twice as high as a commercial plane, and are able to send internet access to the ground below with similar speeds to most 3G networks, local media has reported. Google X, the team behind Google Glass and driverless cars, is the br