today about one half of the world’s
population does not have access to
internet imagine not having access to
the knowledge database on the World Wide
Web or imagine not having access to the
tools or apps on our phones that help
make our lives easier every day for me
personally videoconferencing through the
Internet is what has allowed me to
connect with my family across the world
in the Philippines I am passionate about
using my technical background as an
aerospace engineer to find ways so that
everyone can experience the
opportunities provided by the Internet
this is a map by Facebook connectivity
lab showing Internet connectivity
throughout a world you can see brightly
lit areas in North America and Europe
contrasts against regions that are dimly
lit or even in the dark in Asia Africa
and South America not only do the
populations in some of these dark
regions lack access to Internet some of
these populations may lack access to
resources such as sufficient food clean
water and education some research
studies have shown that if we could
provide these populations with access to
Internet that they could rise out of
poverty internet access can empower
these populations by providing them with
opportunities for education and for
developing businesses a child in a
remote African village without schools
can learn math science or programming by
watching online tutorials or a merchant
on a remote island in the Philippines
can learn to develop a online website in
order to sell his products to the online
market and have an extra source of
income to support his family some of you
may have already heard of this solution
of using Internet access to help solve
world poverty however have you actually
heard of a practical solution of how we
can connect 3.9 billion people around
the world to the Internet
let me tell you it is the significant
technical challenge to connect the
unconnected so there have been two
primary ways of providing Internet
access both of which have limitations
the first method has been through fibre
optic cables this is a map showing fiber
optic cables throughout our world they
are dug underground under C or even
strung on utility poles installing these
cables can be significantly expensive
estimated to be between twenty to forty
thousand dollars per mile there are also
legal barriers such as land rights for
where we can install these cables also
consider that it may be impractical if
not impossible to install these cables
wherever we may need to connect people
the second method has been through
communication satellites these
satellites typically lie in
geostationary Earth orbit and space and
they provide Internet to regions where
they lie directly above these satellites
are comparable to out a five-ton School
Bus it is between tens to hundreds of
millions of dollars to design and build
these large satellites and on top of
that ninety million dollars to launch
one of these satellites on a SpaceX
Falcon 9 these satellites typically use
what is known as radio frequency
communication systems are also known as
RF the limitation is that the
frequencies and these types of systems
are highly regulated this is a chart of
the United States frequency allocations
you can see that it is highly congested
for typical satellite radio frequencies
many of the major players in the
industry already own the most ideal
frequencies so there has been an ongoing
debate between which of these two
platforms we should use to connect the
unconnected fiber-optic cables in the
ground or satellites in space or maybe a
combination of two but these have
limitations why not find an alternative
method that utilizes the advantages of
each
take the high-performance of high-speed
fiber-optic communication and the
ability of satellites to lie directly
overhead regions of interest this
alternative method could be to utilize
what is known as free space optical
communication also known as laser
communication laser communication as a
method of using lights to carry data
this light transmits and propagates
through free space rather just than just
inside of fiber optic cables laser
communication offers several advantages
over the radiofrequency systems used on
today’s communication satellites so if
you have never heard of laser
communication I wouldn’t be surprised if
you’re picturing red laser beams like
that from a laser pointer shooting from
satellites down through our sky although
this is a great way to picture it
artistically this is not quite the case
the light from laser communication is
actually not visible it is in the near
infrared spectrum second the light from
an optical beam from a low-earth orbit
satellite would actually spread to
encompass a fraction of a city not just
a small dot you may see from a laser
pointer in comparison a radio frequency
signal would spread to encompass a
portion of a continent or even a few
countries this presents the first
advantage of laser communication that
the narrow optical beam can make it much
more secure than radio frequency
communication systems however there
comes a challenge of pointing this
precise beam if the satellite and the
laser communication were off pointing
this beam by even just one degree it
would completely miss the planet the
second advantage is that laser
communication frequencies are currently
not regulated laser communication uses
much higher frequencies than the typical
satellite radio frequencies however
consider that clouds can block these
higher frequencies meaning that we have
to be strategic and where we can apply
laser communication
a third advantage is that laser
communication can achieve much higher
data rates than the radiofrequency
communications while reducing size
weight and power let me give you a key
example so you can see NASA’s Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter also known as MRO
so MRO orbits around Mars and its
mission is to take high-resolution
images of the Martian surface one of
these high-resolution images is
comparable to about seven HD movies to
put that into perspective MRO uses a
radio frequency communication system and
it transmits data back to earth is using
that ten-foot wide antenna that you see
on top of the spacecraft at the data
rate of 6 megabits per second it takes
an hour and a half to send back just one
image back to earth however if we were
to switch that system with a laser
communication system we would be able to
send one of those images or seven HD
movies back to earth in around just five
minutes at a data rate of 100 megabits
per second that is 17 times faster and
on top of that we can get rid of that
10-foot wide antenna you see on the top
of the spacecraft and replace it with
just a half-foot aperture telescope you
can see that laser communication can be
quite a game-changer laser communication
has actually already been demonstrated
in space between 2013 to 2014 NASA and
MIT Lincoln Laboratory demonstrated
laser communication from the ladee
spacecraft orbiting the moon all the way
to Earth at a data rate of around 600
megabits per second that’s now 42 HD
movies from the moon to earth in around
five minutes and in 2008 the German
Aerospace Center in T sat demonstrated
laser communication much closer to home
from a low Earth orbit satellite to
Earth at six gigabits per second now
we’re talking around 420 HD movies from
space to earth and around five
it’s based on the success of these laser
communication demonstrations even
commercial industry has taken an
interest you may have heard both SpaceX
and Tell sat have opposed mega
constellations of low-earth orbit
satellites with laser communication
serving as the cross links and now
beyond commercial interest other groups
have found interest in using laser
communication toward their mission to
connect the unconnected or also to
better connect other populations however
rather than using laser communication on
satellite platforms they found other
creative platforms to utilize this
technology Google X had previous efforts
of using laser communication between
high-altitude balloons and in current
efforts through the free space optical
communication project Google X is taking
the same laser communication technology
but using it on the ground to help
under-connected populations in India you
may have also heard how Facebook had
previous efforts of using laser
communication between high altitude
solar-powered drones based on the
development of these technologies you
can see that laser communication is a
viable technology to connect the
unconnected especially for people in
very hard to reach places keep in mind
that as we continue to connect people to
the Internet
we’re providing them with life-changing
opportunities so join me as I continue
to develop new technology or as I find
ways alternative ways to use existing
technology to make the greater impact of
connecting the unconnected
[Applause] [Music]
population does not have access to
internet imagine not having access to
the knowledge database on the World Wide
Web or imagine not having access to the
tools or apps on our phones that help
make our lives easier every day for me
personally videoconferencing through the
Internet is what has allowed me to
connect with my family across the world
in the Philippines I am passionate about
using my technical background as an
aerospace engineer to find ways so that
everyone can experience the
opportunities provided by the Internet
this is a map by Facebook connectivity
lab showing Internet connectivity
throughout a world you can see brightly
lit areas in North America and Europe
contrasts against regions that are dimly
lit or even in the dark in Asia Africa
and South America not only do the
populations in some of these dark
regions lack access to Internet some of
these populations may lack access to
resources such as sufficient food clean
water and education some research
studies have shown that if we could
provide these populations with access to
Internet that they could rise out of
poverty internet access can empower
these populations by providing them with
opportunities for education and for
developing businesses a child in a
remote African village without schools
can learn math science or programming by
watching online tutorials or a merchant
on a remote island in the Philippines
can learn to develop a online website in
order to sell his products to the online
market and have an extra source of
income to support his family some of you
may have already heard of this solution
of using Internet access to help solve
world poverty however have you actually
heard of a practical solution of how we
can connect 3.9 billion people around
the world to the Internet
let me tell you it is the significant
technical challenge to connect the
unconnected so there have been two
primary ways of providing Internet
access both of which have limitations
the first method has been through fibre
optic cables this is a map showing fiber
optic cables throughout our world they
are dug underground under C or even
strung on utility poles installing these
cables can be significantly expensive
estimated to be between twenty to forty
thousand dollars per mile there are also
legal barriers such as land rights for
where we can install these cables also
consider that it may be impractical if
not impossible to install these cables
wherever we may need to connect people
the second method has been through
communication satellites these
satellites typically lie in
geostationary Earth orbit and space and
they provide Internet to regions where
they lie directly above these satellites
are comparable to out a five-ton School
Bus it is between tens to hundreds of
millions of dollars to design and build
these large satellites and on top of
that ninety million dollars to launch
one of these satellites on a SpaceX
Falcon 9 these satellites typically use
what is known as radio frequency
communication systems are also known as
RF the limitation is that the
frequencies and these types of systems
are highly regulated this is a chart of
the United States frequency allocations
you can see that it is highly congested
for typical satellite radio frequencies
many of the major players in the
industry already own the most ideal
frequencies so there has been an ongoing
debate between which of these two
platforms we should use to connect the
unconnected fiber-optic cables in the
ground or satellites in space or maybe a
combination of two but these have
limitations why not find an alternative
method that utilizes the advantages of
each
take the high-performance of high-speed
fiber-optic communication and the
ability of satellites to lie directly
overhead regions of interest this
alternative method could be to utilize
what is known as free space optical
communication also known as laser
communication laser communication as a
method of using lights to carry data
this light transmits and propagates
through free space rather just than just
inside of fiber optic cables laser
communication offers several advantages
over the radiofrequency systems used on
today’s communication satellites so if
you have never heard of laser
communication I wouldn’t be surprised if
you’re picturing red laser beams like
that from a laser pointer shooting from
satellites down through our sky although
this is a great way to picture it
artistically this is not quite the case
the light from laser communication is
actually not visible it is in the near
infrared spectrum second the light from
an optical beam from a low-earth orbit
satellite would actually spread to
encompass a fraction of a city not just
a small dot you may see from a laser
pointer in comparison a radio frequency
signal would spread to encompass a
portion of a continent or even a few
countries this presents the first
advantage of laser communication that
the narrow optical beam can make it much
more secure than radio frequency
communication systems however there
comes a challenge of pointing this
precise beam if the satellite and the
laser communication were off pointing
this beam by even just one degree it
would completely miss the planet the
second advantage is that laser
communication frequencies are currently
not regulated laser communication uses
much higher frequencies than the typical
satellite radio frequencies however
consider that clouds can block these
higher frequencies meaning that we have
to be strategic and where we can apply
laser communication
a third advantage is that laser
communication can achieve much higher
data rates than the radiofrequency
communications while reducing size
weight and power let me give you a key
example so you can see NASA’s Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter also known as MRO
so MRO orbits around Mars and its
mission is to take high-resolution
images of the Martian surface one of
these high-resolution images is
comparable to about seven HD movies to
put that into perspective MRO uses a
radio frequency communication system and
it transmits data back to earth is using
that ten-foot wide antenna that you see
on top of the spacecraft at the data
rate of 6 megabits per second it takes
an hour and a half to send back just one
image back to earth however if we were
to switch that system with a laser
communication system we would be able to
send one of those images or seven HD
movies back to earth in around just five
minutes at a data rate of 100 megabits
per second that is 17 times faster and
on top of that we can get rid of that
10-foot wide antenna you see on the top
of the spacecraft and replace it with
just a half-foot aperture telescope you
can see that laser communication can be
quite a game-changer laser communication
has actually already been demonstrated
in space between 2013 to 2014 NASA and
MIT Lincoln Laboratory demonstrated
laser communication from the ladee
spacecraft orbiting the moon all the way
to Earth at a data rate of around 600
megabits per second that’s now 42 HD
movies from the moon to earth in around
five minutes and in 2008 the German
Aerospace Center in T sat demonstrated
laser communication much closer to home
from a low Earth orbit satellite to
Earth at six gigabits per second now
we’re talking around 420 HD movies from
space to earth and around five
it’s based on the success of these laser
communication demonstrations even
commercial industry has taken an
interest you may have heard both SpaceX
and Tell sat have opposed mega
constellations of low-earth orbit
satellites with laser communication
serving as the cross links and now
beyond commercial interest other groups
have found interest in using laser
communication toward their mission to
connect the unconnected or also to
better connect other populations however
rather than using laser communication on
satellite platforms they found other
creative platforms to utilize this
technology Google X had previous efforts
of using laser communication between
high-altitude balloons and in current
efforts through the free space optical
communication project Google X is taking
the same laser communication technology
but using it on the ground to help
under-connected populations in India you
may have also heard how Facebook had
previous efforts of using laser
communication between high altitude
solar-powered drones based on the
development of these technologies you
can see that laser communication is a
viable technology to connect the
unconnected especially for people in
very hard to reach places keep in mind
that as we continue to connect people to
the Internet
we’re providing them with life-changing
opportunities so join me as I continue
to develop new technology or as I find
ways alternative ways to use existing
technology to make the greater impact of
connecting the unconnected
[Applause] [Music]
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