By Douglas Busvine
BERLIN, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom said
on Monday it had successfully tested an aerial base station in
the earth's stratosphere, an innovation it hopes will bring
mobile coverage to remote areas that are hard for ground-based
networks to reach.
The German telecoms group and its partner, British startup
Stratospheric Platforms Ltd, said a pilotless aircraft flying at
14,000 metres (45,000 feet) had succeeded in connecting with its
terrestrial 4G network from an on-board antenna.
The airborne base station, which can cover an area 100 km
(62 miles) across, handled voice and video calls, data downloads
and web browsing from a smartphone user on the ground during
trial flights earlier this month.
"We have shown that we can deliver fast internet and
connectivity anywhere," said Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, chief
executive of Deutsche Telekom's mobile towers business Deutsche
Funkturm.
"Especially in areas that are hard to reach for traditional
mobile towers, aerial base stations will be a smart and
cost-effective addition to our mobile networks."
Hosting base stations in the stratosphere promises the low
latency that new 5G networks will need to support innovations,
such as self-driving cars, where fast reaction times are vital.
But, while aerial antennas offer a speed and cost advantage
over satellites, keeping them aloft poses a design challenge.
Alphabet's rival Loon venture uses high-altitude
balloons to run wireless networks. Facebook grounded an
experimental solar-powered drone two years ago after concluding
it was not feasible.
PLATFORM SOLUTION
Deutsche Telekom's test flights were staged over the
southern state of Bavaria using an adapted H3Grob 520 propeller
plane, as Stratospheric Platforms is still developing its own
pilotless aircraft.
The UK startup says its lightweight, emission-free
"platform" will have a wingspan of 60 metres - as big as a
Boeing 747 - but weigh only 3.5 tonnes and be able to stay aloft
for one to two weeks.
It will use a hydrogen fuel-cell system that combines liquid
hydrogen and oxygen, generating greater output than solar cells
and giving off only water vapour as a waste product.
Richard Deakin, Chief Executive Officer of Stratospheric
Platforms, said he was working towards operational deployment
"around 2024".
The startup has been in stealth mode since it was founded in
2014. Deutsche Telekom came on board as an investor two years
later, and now owns a 38% stake.
Stratospheric Platforms said it was now holding talks with
other potential investors over a so-called Series B funding
round.
Partners for its aerial platform include Northrop Grumman
and Thales while it is working with QinetiQ
and others on its hydrogen power system.
(Reporting by Douglas Busvine. Editing by Jane Merriman)