Facebook's giant drone to beam internet to remote regions

1	Photo: Facebook's internet beaming drone will have the same wingspan as a Boeing 737 but will weigh less than a car.
2	Facebook has completed building its first full-scale, solar-powered drone, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 and is hoped to provide internet access to the most remote parts of the world.
3	The Aquila aircraft, which weighs less than a car and can stay in the air for months at a time, will be tested in the US later this year Facebook said.
4	The plane will weigh about 400 kilograms said Yael Maguire, the company's engineering director of connectivity.
5	It will hover between 60,000 feet (18,000 metres) and 90,000 feet (27,000 metres) above the altitude of commercial aeroplanes, so it is not affected by problematic weather.
6	"Our mission is to connect everybody in the world," said Jay Parikh, vice president of engineering.
7	"This is going to be a great opportunity for us to motivate the industry to move faster on this technology."
8	The drone, which was built in 14 months, is able to fly in the air for 90 days at a time, Mr Maguire said.
9	Helium balloons will be attached to the plane and float it up into the air.
10	The drone has a wingspan of 42 metres.
11	Because the plane must constantly move to stay aloft, it will circle a three-kilometre radius, Mr Parikh said.
12	During the day, it will float up to 27,000 metres and at night will drift down to 18,000 metres to conserve energy.
13	The drone is the first in a program called Aquila, which is geared towards the 10 per cent of the population that does not have any internet access, executives said.
14	Separately, Facebook a year ago launched internet.org, an initiative to provide internet access to the two-thirds of the world that do not have a reliable connection.
15	Mr Parikh said Facebook is not planning to sell the drones but will use them to expand internet access.
16	Although Facebook does not immediately face policy or legal hurdles in testing its drone in the US, Mr Maguire said, it is the first company to fly at such altitudes.