Sputnik- Iranian authorities have devised a way to provide Internet access to hard-to-reach areas of the country with the help of high-altitude balloons.


�Iranian Space Research Center Head Hassan Haddadpour declared that his organization has finished developing a high-altitude balloon capable of�carrying the communication equipment necessary for�providing Internet access in�remote areas of�the country and in�case of�emergency situations.


According to Mehr news agency, the �Internet balloons� come in�two varieties: low-altitude tethered balloons and high-altitude untethered balloons.

As Haddadpour explained, the tethered balloons will be deployed in�case of�an emergency, in�crowded areas or in�other situations where it is impossible to�establish a ground-based communications center.

Such balloons can be rapidly launched in�the air and retrieved just as�quickly, providing Iranian authorities with�the means to�swiftly establish Internet communications wherever they require at�a moment�s notice.

Haddadpour also added that the tethered balloons are deployed at�an altitude of�about 200-300 meters while their high-altitude counterparts soar in�the stratosphere.
"These balloons can provide Internet access to�an area of�about 20 to�30 kilometers in�diameter," he said.


The new balloons have already been tested during�Arbaeen � a Shia Muslim religious observance commemorates the martyrdom of�Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of�Muhammad.

It should be noted that a similar program aimed at�providing Internet access to�rural and remote areas around�the world, Project Loon, was launched by�Google several years ago. The technology was first tested during�trial runs in�California's Central Valley, and was officially announced as�a Google project in�2013, followed by�a pilot experiment in�New Zealand.