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The Internet in Space

by Tim Stevens on April 16, 2007 at 01:05 PM



Nearly all Internet traffic is run through cables and wires strung across poles, buried underground, or floating in the sea. This is just fine most of the time, but when you're hoping to send critical data through the Internet and you're a long way from the nearest Starbucks, say, or on some remote island, your options are fairly slim.

That could some day change, thanks to a new project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. BBC News is reporting that networking hardware manufacturer Cisco and satellite manufacturer Intelsat will be working together to develop a means to put a networking router in space, effectively creating an orbital hotspot. (It's like reception-anywhere satellite radio, only for Internet access.) Eventually, this same technology could be used to spread Internet access throughout space.

Unfortunately, at first, the system will only be available for government uses. When launched in 2009, "Iris" will allow troops on the ground to use Internet-based communication systems from virtually anywhere. But remember, the Internet itself was government-only back in the day (as was GPS). With any luck, it won't be too long before you're able to check your MySpace page from anywhere in the world.

From BBC News

Tags: breaking+news, Cisco, Internet, Satellite, top

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