Alphabet and Bharti Airtel Deploying Laser Internet Technology in India

Alphabet is reportedly using laser internet technology to improve access in remote areas of India.

The parent company of Google has a project called Taara that developed the technology and is now working with Indian telecommunications and internet provider Bharti Airtel, which will deploy it on a large scale, Reuters reported Monday (June 26).

The laser internet technology is already being used in 13 countries, including Australia, Kenya and Fiji, according to the report.

It uses equipment the size of a traffic light to enable the laser that carries the data, the report said.

“We are trying to be one of the cheapest and the most affordable place where you would be able to get dollar per gigabyte to the end consumers,” Taara head Mahesh Krishnaswamy, director and project lead of Project Taara at X, Alphabet’s “moonshot” research and development arm, said in the report.

The technology will be used to bring high-speed internet to remote areas for the first time, according to the report. It also helps to deliver faster internet to urban areas without having to dig and bury fiberoptic cables.

“I think this is really disruptive,” Bharti Airtel Chief Technology Officer Randeep Sekhon said in the report.

The Taara project and its novel technology is being developed by X and aims to help expand internet access to otherwise unconnected regions where it’s either too difficult or not economically viable to install fiber.

The project using beams of light for wireless communications was piloted in six African countries, “working to bring affordable and abundant internet to more people across the continent,” Nitin Gajria, managing director for sub-Saharan Africa at Google, said during a Google for Africa 2022 webcast held in October.

Google announced in January 2022 that it will invest up to $1 billion as part of a long-term partnership with Bharti Airtel, aiming to boost India’s digital ecosystem.

The investment includes a $700 million equity investment in the company and up to $300 million for commercial services, including programs to make devices more affordable to consumers and offerings designed to accelerate digital inclusion.

“The two organizations recognize the importance of a connected India, in empowering businesses as they progress on their digital transformation journeys, and building a strong digital ecosystem for consumers everywhere,” the companies said at the time.