Beam me up: Zuckerberg to launch Internet into orbit
Mark Zuckerberg is really determined to bring free internet to the world.
The CEO announced via Facebook that the company is working on a project to deliver internet to the people of earth from space.
Zuckerberg has partnered with Eutelsat, a French-based satellite provider, to literally launch this project into the stratosphere.
The satellite, dubbed Amos-6, is expected to provide internet coverage to parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and is slated for launch in 2016.
"Over the last year Facebook has been exploring ways to use aircraft and satellites to beam internet access down into communities from the sky," Zuckerberg wrote. "To connect people living in remote regions, traditional connectivity infrastructure is often difficult and inefficient, so we need to invent new technologies."
Zuckerberg has been a vocal proponent for free internet, having developed Internet.org, a Facebook-led initiative which aims to bring affordable access to select internet services to less developed countries.
"Connectivity changes lives and communities," he wrote. "We're going to keep working to connect the entire world — even if that means looking beyond our planet."
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Internet.org is a Facebook-led initiative.