Alphabet's Project Taara Provides Internet Access Using Beams of Light

• Sub-Saharan Africa can have high-speed internet access without needing to lay any cables.

There are many areas of the world where high-speed internet access isn't viable yet, at least through the well-established method of laying cables. Google's parent company Alphabet aims to solve that problem with Project Taara, which replaces fiber with beams of light. Project Taara isn't a new project, just a renamed one. It used to be called The FSOC Project, and it's aimed at developing a new way to provide affordable high-speed internet connectivity to areas of the world where laying cable isn't economically feasible or practical. Project Taara works by using a very narrow, invisible beam of light to transmit data at high speeds. The beam can travel up to 20km (12 miles) between two terminals and has a bandwidth of 20Gbps or higher. Because Taara uses light, it means the terminals can be positioned above ground, therefore removing the need to dig trenches and lay cables. It also solves the problem of how to cross rivers and other geographical obstacles that cost a lot of time and money to overcome when relying on cables to establish a connection. The focus for Project Taara right now is Sub-Saharan Africa (although success has already been seen in India as the video above shows), and Alphabet is working with Econet and Liquid Telecom to offer high-speed internet access in Kenya first. Once deployed it's hoped the new connection will allow for remote education and work, as well as generally having a positive impact on local communities. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoybAZNpLjk[/embedyt] (Source: PCmag)