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AALTO’s Mission: Democratizing High-Speed Internet with Solar-Powered Drones

Where Loon relied on balloons, however, the newer project utilizes Zephyr solar-powered drones. “[Loon] got really good customer engagement,” AALTO CEO Samer Halawi told TechCrunch in a sit-down interview last week at Mobile World Congress. Airbus acquired the technology for the fixed-wing drones from U.K. Ministry of Defence and Space spinoff QinetiQ in 2022. Every six months or so, the system will land for a battery swap, as these still have a limited shelf life. Like Loon before it, the company is also exploring temporary deployment for downed cell towers following natural disasters.

Dylan Williams
March 7, 2024

Enterprise, Venture

High-Speed Rail Prevails as Hyperloop Falters

The idea “originated out of his hatred for California’s proposed high-speed rail system,” according to his biographer Ashlee Vance. And the news of its demise broke less than two weeks after the Biden administration announced $6 billion in funding for high-speed rail projects across California. It’s a big win for public transit advocates, many of whom have spent decades stumping for not just high-speed rail, but better rail service overall. Thankfully this country was already building momentum back up for investing in its rail system, with a focus on faster trains. Brightline is also building what it calls “the nation’s first true high-speed rail network” between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.