Google’s plan to spread the Internet with massive balloons is coming to America

The mission of Google's Project Loon may be to bring Internet connectivity to the developing world. But someday, perhaps soon, even some of the richest countries on Earth could benefit from Google's big, floating balloons. Loon project lead Mike Cassidy says the project would help parts of America get connected: As for bringing Loon to places like the US that are already largely connected but could still use improved Internet connectivity, Cassidy says that will also happen. “Even in my house, I don’t have a cell signal,” he said. “We’re going to come to the United States, too.”

When the airborne network is complete, users will be able to surf the Web from LTE signals beamed to earth by Google. What's less clear is whether the US deployment will also involve the drones and satellites Google will likely need to power its global network of Internet access. The company didn't address this when I reached out for a comment. But Google said in a statement that within the next year, it will begin testing Loon more widely by setting up a string of floating access points around the world.