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Originally published on 02/25/2002
Space Data is a wireless data infrastructure company that uses weather balloons as radio platforms. While it seems like a wacky idea, it is based on proven technology, and it tackles a problem that can't otherwise be solved economically: 80% of the U.S. population lives on only 10% of the land.
Outside of the population centers, there's poor cellular and pager coverage, because the economics of building radio towers to serve sparse populations (including traveling businesspeople) don't work. The economics of satellite-based networks are even worse.
But for 60 years the U.S. Weather Service has been launching balloons twice a day from its 70 bases. These balloons float up to 100,000 feet, their payloads transmitting atmospheric telemetry; they then drift across the country in predictable routes before popping or falling back to earth. Space Data is negotiating with the Weather Service to allow its 6-pound repeaters to hitch rides on weather balloons in exchange for providing GPS data to go with the existing telemetry.
Each repeater serves an area 350 miles in diameter and runs for about 36 hours before being lowered to Earth by a parachute. Since new balloons are launched every twelve hours, there's always backup hardware in the air. People who find used repeaters can drop them in the mail for a reward, but the equipment is low-cost enough that recovering it isn't part of the financial equation.
Space Data plans to sell wireless capacity to the cellular and paging carriers directly, which will then market the bandwidth to users. This clean business relationship is possible because, unlike satellite-based systems, Space Data's radios communicate with existing handheld devices.
I love this idea. The company has raised $13.5 million from angel investors, and is planning a test in the Southwest this year.
- Rafe Needleman
email: rafe-needleman@catchoday.com
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