Alphabet’s internet-balloon project designed to provide connectivity from the stratosphere was called Project Loon.
Project Loon began at Google X, the company’s experimental research laboratory, and was publicly announced in 2013. The project used high-altitude balloons carrying communications equipment to create airborne networks that could connect users in areas lacking conventional internet infrastructure.
The balloons operated in the stratosphere, above commercial-airline flight paths. By changing altitude, they could use different wind currents and move across large regions. Google worked with telecommunications companies so phones and other devices could connect through ground-based network equipment.
The project became an independent Alphabet subsidiary called Loon LLC in 2018. Alphabet shut it down in 2021 after concluding that a sustainable business model had not been found. Project Loon is sometimes confused with Project Wing, another Google X project focused on drone delivery rather than balloon-based connectivity.