Facebook's Grand Plan to Connect Every Corner of the World Takes Flight

(delicate music)

The Aquila isn't the biggest drone in the sky.

It didn't fly for the longest time

or at the highest altitude.

But, its maiden voyage is still a milestone

for internet access and for Facebook.

(moving to lively music)

The drone is part of Facebook's plan

to connect remote parts of the world to the web.

It isn't the only tech giant with those aspirations.

Google has its own flying drones

and high-flying altitude balloons.

Both companies are serving themselves, of course,

but they're also helping the world communicate.

And, that's why this short flight over Arizona

is so important.

The plan is to power the drones with the sun

so they can stay aloft for months at a time.

Facebook is fashioning all sorts

of other contraptions they can push towards its goal

including new wireless antennas and lasers and satellites.

But, Aquila itself is still unfinished,

lacking the solar panels, batteries, and other equipment

she will eventually carry into the skies.

Once finished, though, Facebook actually

doesn't want to operate these drones.

The plan is to give the designs away so that

local governments or internet service providers can fly them

delivering signals to rural areas down on Earth.

And, getting buy-in from these third parties

may be the hardest part of Facebook's grand plan.

They have to complete the design first,

which is years away.

But, the project is certainly off the ground.