Stratospheric Broadband
Led, by the University of York and funded by the EU’s Framework 6 R&D programmes, the CAPANINA project seeks to energise the development of high-alititude platforms (HAPs) for wireless broadband. For the uninitiated, HAPs are essentially tethered balloons and airships that provide broadband coverage across large urban and rural areas; an airborne rival to WiMAX and 3G if you will, but also potentially bridging the gap between satellite and terrestrial wireless broadband.
Though HAP technologies are at an early stage of development, it’s nevertheless gratifying to see that where London is near-term hub of internet innovation and commerce, there are other parts of the country that are placing long bets on emerging technologies and academic partnership.
There’s a CAPANINA primer presentation (4.2mb Powerpoint) available from the project site – it’s worth a read :)