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The balloon goes up to do "low-altitude satellite" Wireless Broadband as Capanina takes another step

The problem with WiMAX and other local broadband distribution systems isn't the wireless: it's the range - and hence the idea of using balloons to take the antenna up higher. It's not exactly the newest idea - Skylinc has been testing it for years - but it is now boasting successful test "flights" in Sweden.

The Capanina project has now issued a press release about the Swedish trials, through the University of York - a release which reads uncannily like the BBC's report on the subject - but neither report makes it clear how the balloon managed to stay in one place above Sweden for nine hours if it was 24 km up in the air.

Tethered balloons can operate at far lower altitudes. But few countries would countenance a ten-mile cable, even if one that long could be reliably built. And without a cable, you have serious issues in getting power to the antenna. And indeed, this balloon was moving, which means that a working system would have to have a lot of these things in the sky.

In other words, it's an interesting experiment, but don't look for any high speed WiMAX balloons in your area just yet.

Technorati: Capanina, tethered aerostat, WiMAX