Project Loon signs its first deal for Internet-delivering balloons—in Kenya

At the AAAS 2018 conference, Loon's Sal Candido shared this video aid when the time came to explain how Project Loon functions. "The team back in Mountain View knows presentations aren't my strength."

Project Loon, the Internet-delivering balloon system that grew out of Alphabet's Project X division, has announced its first commercial deal. According to multiple reports, the recent Project X graduates will partner with Telkom Kenya to increase connectivity in the country.

"Connectivity is critical. If you are not online, you are left out," Joe Mucheru, Kenya's information, communication, and technology minister, told Reuters. "Loon is another technology that is being introduced that the licensed operators hopefully can be able to use."

Public details of the deal appear scarce for now-no firm timeframe for deployment or financial details were available as of press time. The BBC notes that with this new partnership, Telkom Kenya will provide the Internet signal, and Loon will spread it over remote areas of Kenya.

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