Google is secretly testing solar-powered drones as a way to deliver high-speed internet to areas from above, according to the Guardian.
The project codenamed SkyBender has reportedly been underway at Spaceport America in New Mexico since last summer, and involves the company using the drones to deliver high-speed internet from the air.
It hopes to achieve this using high frequency millimeter-wave radio transmissions, thought to be the key to developing faster wireless internet connections.
If successful, Google's drones would deliver 5G internet access to the world from above, though limitations include the fact that millimeter-wave transmissions used to deliver 5G have a shorter range than that of a 4G mobile signal.
The work of Project Skybender aims to overcome this problem, and Google is testing a number of new methods with the solar-powered drones from its Google Titan division, set up in 2014 following the company's acquisition of solar-powered drone manufacturer Titan Aerospace.
Its optionally-manned Centaur aircraft are also involved, reported the Guardian.
Before the acquisition, it was reported that Facebook was also on the brink of buying Titan Aerospace as part of a wider initiative to bring internet connectivity to developing markets across the world.
Last summer, Facebook unveiled it's own solar-powered drone project Aquila used to provide internet access to remote areas across the US by partnering with local ISPs. The drone could fly for three months at a time without landing, and transmits data via laser.
Google is temporarily occupying 15,000 sq/ft of hangar space in the New Mexico's Gateway to Space terminal for the SkyBender project, as well as setting up its own flight control centre in the Spaceflight Operations Center, according to the Guardian.
Late last year, it was reported that mobile operators Huawei and Telefonica were to work together to define standards and architecture for 5G.
"5G will have a massive impact on the telecommunication industry and in society as a whole," said Telefonica Group CTO, Enrique Blanco. "Telefonica doesn't want the 5G networks start-up to be a specific single event, but rather a process which we want to begin right now."
