Aerostats

How World Mobile’s aerostats work

by Rollout

How World Mobile’s aerostats work

Thanks to the dynamic design of the World Mobile network, we can deploy connectivity in places legacy mobile operators can’t reach while also delivering decentralised digital identity and creating a sharing economy that allows anyone to benefit and earn from owning a part of the global World Mobile network.

We can reach these remote and previously unconnected areas by adapting the approach and technologies we use to the unique challenges of each region.

One of the technologies that enable our dynamic network is our aerostats. The aerostats World Mobile uses are unpowered balloons that provide connectivity in a wide area and are tethered to the ground with a high-speed fibre connection.

This enables widespread coverage at a fraction of the cost of traditional cell towers, while also allowing for innovative connectivity options and the propagation of our backhaul to AirNode operators wherever we have deployed.

Here is a breakdown of how we use aerostats to connect the unconnected around the world.

What is on our aerostats?

We’ve partnered with aerostat companies like Atlas and Altaeros to provide balloon-based wireless connectivity, beginning with our rollout in Africa.

These aerostat partners deliver lighter-than-air balloons that are loaded with the technology we need to connect people to the World Mobile network and enable AirNode owners to offer and earn from last-mile connectivity in our coverage area.

They act as a telecommunications tower in the sky, optimising coverage while providing backhaul, handset, and IoT connectivity. Aerostats can deliver coverage across a much larger area than traditional cell towers due to their altitude, with our balloons able to provide connectivity in a radius of up to 75km.

The payload – the hardware that provides connectivity and other features – of each aerostat can vary depending on the region we are deploying in, allowing us to tweak each deployment to connect people in the most efficient way possible.

A World Mobile aerostat may feature a payload that includes the following hardware:

  • An LTE module that delivers 4G cellular connectivity over licensed spectrum.
  • An LTE-U module that enables backhaul over unlicensed spectrum from Wi-Fi AirNodes.
  • Sigfox and LoRaWAN modules to connect low-power and battery-powered Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
  • An AIS marine tracking module to deliver more efficient tracking of marine vessels in a large radius.
  • A fibre tether that bridges the aerostat’s payload and the base station on the ground, linking the balloon to the core of the World Mobile network.

A giant AirNode, backhaul provider, and IoT hub

World Mobile aerostats act as a hub for delivering connectivity over a wide area. They can act as a giant AirNode, providing last-mile connectivity through LTE and LTE-U technology. This means customers can directly connect to the balloon’s payload using their smartphone in the same way they would to a traditional cell tower.

Aerostats can also act as a backhaul provider for AirNode operators in their coverage area. If you own an AirNode in the coverage area of a World Mobile aerostat, you can provide connectivity to users and transmit their data directly to the World Mobile network over a cellular connection to the aerostat, no fibre or fixed-line connection required.

This is enabled by integrated access and backhaul (IAB), which allows the aerostat to both offer standard cellular connectivity and connect AirNodes to the global World Mobile network, allowing them to earn from connecting others even in areas without fixed broadband coverage.

Read more about World Mobile’s dynamic approach to backhaul.

By including IoT modules that use technologies like Sigfox and LoRaWAN on our aerostats, they can function as IoT hubs in the sky. This means World Mobile aerostats can efficiently and cheaply connect a mesh of IoT devices in a large radius, unlocking exciting new opportunities for projects like smart agriculture, smart cities, and environment monitoring.

Similarly, the inclusion of an AIS marine tracking module allows vessels in the range of the aerostat to transmit transponder information via our balloon instead of a satellite, making the communication of vessel locations much cheaper.

Join the unstoppable mobile network

Using balloons to connect the unconnected is just one of the ways World Mobile is disrupting the trillion-dollar telco industry. Our integration of decentralised identity and the sharing economy provides unprecedented opportunity and agency to users on the World Mobile network.

We’ve also turned the traditional mobile network model on its head by allowing users to own parts of our network and earn for providing connectivity to others.

Together, we can connect the billions of unconnected people around the world while allowing everyone to benefit from the shared ownership and growth of our infrastructure.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the World Mobile ecosystem and our mission, check out the links below:

You can also check out CNN’s article – Internet blimps are coming to Zanzibar

spice

Zanzibar Spice Farm

by Rollout

As you walk through the Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, accompanied by chirping birds and humid tropical air, Alice Rukazibwa is there planning what would be her life’s work. Alice is a Tanzanian who currently lives in Zanzibar. She is creating spice farm tours that are accompanied by education centres, where guides and residents can study languages as well as the intricacies of spices. Her journey is one she passionately explains with unbridled excitement while basking in the nature around her. “This is an interesting place, because we have Jozani Forest, we have spice, we have a turtle and butterfly centre all in one area. It could be a big touristic area.”

Alice believes everything is about connection and interconnectedness.

She is eager to share this life with the world. She marvels at the depth of the communal culture that sings to the seeds before they are planted to become spices. Zanzibar, often known as Spice Island, grows nutmeg, vanilla, ginger, and other spices. The production of spices is a significant economic driver on the island on top of a budding tourism industry.

To build locally is to strengthen communities.

“It all has to be local.” Alice is adamant that locally established small and medium-sized businesses are vital to Africa’s economic fabric.

According to the World Bank, more than half of all businesses and jobs are owned and operated by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). And through her entrepreneurial initiative, Alice is well on her way to addressing the demand for education and employment development in her community.

Alice’s teammate, Riziki Hassan Galu shares with a smile, ” … I will be able to help myself so I can be a tour guide just right here at home in Zanzibar”, knowing there is much they would like to say once they have the tools.

Alice emphasises, however, that there is a large gap between the promise of what is possible and what is being accomplished, as she has ambitious aspirations. The absence of internet connectivity has made it difficult for her to move at the pace she prefers: “Where we are, we don’t have any mobile connection at all.”

Today, Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, the only national park on the island, is connected to the internet through World Mobile AirNodes, enabling people to access the web and all the opportunities it brings. This connection now enables many individuals, such as Alice, to accelerate their ideas. The internet offers the opportunity to connect with markets, promote ideas, and serve as a learning resource.

World Mobile is a change-making movement built on the power of connectivity and a vision of a world that can serve everyone. The hybrid network and sharing economy drives a model of interconnectedness, as AirNode Owners and Operators earn by connecting others. The rollout of World Mobile technology in Zanzibar is the initial step toward connecting the world’s 2.9 billion unconnected people. Along the way, we encounter individuals like Alice, who generate employment, build local economies, radiate creativity, and provide a wealth of knowledge to the world wide web.

Watch Alice explain the power of connection in Zanzibar in the video below.