Thanks to Airbus subsidiary AALTO and a consortium led by Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo, airborne mobile base stations will be launched over Japan in 2026. To implement this project, the consortium, which includes Space Compass, Mizuho Bank, Development Bank of Japan, and NTT Docomo, will invest $100 million in AALTO.
AALTO is the manufacturer of the Zephyr High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS), a solar-powered fixed-wing drone designed to operate in the stratosphere, where it provides mobile connectivity and Earth observation services. The technology has been under development for over 20 years and has improved from a flight time of about 6 hours at an altitude of 9,000 meters to the ability to remain at an altitude of 20,000 meters for 90 days.
According to AALTO, the cash injection will expand the coverage of mobile network operators, reduce gaps in network coverage, and support Japan’s disaster response system.
Space Compass believes that airborne networks can solve problems with connectivity to hard-to-reach areas, of which Japan has many due to its mountainous terrain.
Japan’s shrinking population is also one of the motivations for the project. This is expected to have the greatest impact on rural areas, which will still need services such as telemedicine, distance education, and online economic activities, as well as reliable notification channels in case of an emergency. Without such connectivity, these populations risk falling victim to the digital divide.
Space Compass has long been working with AALTO on demonstration flights and to incorporate drones and satellites into a broader space-based ICT infrastructure that NTT has dubbed the «Space Integrated Computing Network».
Source: theregister
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