We’re one step closer to getting cheaper, faster Internet from space

For many, it's been a years-long pipe dream: Ultra-fast, lag-free Internet that comes to your PC or smartphone via satellite instead of a wire into your home. Facebook, Google and even SpaceX have all explored the idea, partly in hopes of selling broadband access to a growing market with enormous potential — the developing world. But now, a former Googler and friend of Elon Musk has beaten them all to the punch, becoming the first to receive permission to actually build a next-generation satellite Internet service that targets US customers. If it takes off, the project could benefit Americans nationwide by providing broadband anywhere in the United States, particularly in rural areas where it can be difficult to provide fast Internet connections using traditional ground-based cables.

At the heart of Greg Wyler's new network are a fleet of 720 satellites, all orbiting the earth at an altitude of roughly 745 miles. The first satellites would launch next year, and service could start as early as 2019. On June 22, federal regulators voted to give Wyler and his company, OneWeb, approval to use the airwaves that will beam the Internet down to earth.