| A HALO (High Altitude Long Operation) aircraft is an aircraft
designed to act as a very high altitude receiving and transmitting tower,
circling a metropolitan area and providing broadband telecommunication service
at data rates up to 5 Mbps to homes and up to 25 Mbps to business users
with dedicated lines. Angel Technologies plans to launch a HALO-based series
of metropolitan area networks (MANs). In each city, a single aircraft flying
at about 52,000 feet will be able to service home and business users over
a 60 mile area. Three aircraft will take turns, each flying an 8-hour shift.
Users on the ground will mount a small external antenna outside their home
or building. The airplane will link users with each other or with Internet
service providers (ISPs) and telephone company offices for connection to
networks outside the metropolitan area. Tens or even hundreds of thousands
of users can be serviced. Rates are not yet announced. |
