Alphabet (GOOGL) shuts down cell tower alternative Loon

Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc‎ (NASDAQ: GOOGL) ‎ is shutting Loon after concluding that the idea behind Loon was viable but not anymore. Founded in 2011, Loon aimed to bring connectivity around the world by using balloons and solar-powered networking gear instead of the traditional cell towers, which many deem too expensive.

For, many years buyers of the technology questioned how good this idea was and its future viability. However, this dream which was termed in bringing low-cost methods turned out to be more expensive than the traditional cell tower it was going against.

The sole reason is that the problem of connectivity was solved way ahead and Loon was late to the party. A cost-effective balloon became an absurd idea. No company or telecom giant in their able minds will invest in expensive balloons that have only 5 months’ shelf life.

The only thing left was to hire clowns as managers.

However, the company launched a project in Kenya and the joining service with Telkom Kenya will expire on March 1. The tech proved successful in Peru and Puerto Rico as an alternative to when cell towers were inoperable. Loon had some big milestones like bringing high-speed internet, which is considered to be a very tall order. The company employs 200 people, and it has a $125 million investment from HAPSmobile in 2019.

Guess the air came out, eventually.