The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking to use drones to provide wi-fi hotspots to deployed troops.
The plan, if successful, will provide high-speed network connection that is often unavailable to troops in the field, according to BBC News.
DARPA engineers recently finished the first of three test phases. In this phase, important technologies that will be integrated into a complete system were developed.
"We're pleased with the technical achievements we've seen so far in steerable millimeter-wave antennas and millimeter-wave amplifier technology," said Dick Ridgway, program manager of DARPA. "These successes- and the novel networking approaches needed to maintain these high-capacity links- are key to providing forward deployed units with the same high-capacity connectivity we all enjoy over our 4G cell-phone networks."
DARPA's Mobile Hotspots program will develop a pod combined with networking equipment that will be able to fit on the wing of a RQ-7 Shadow UAV, Discovery News reported. The pod includes millimeter-wave antennae that provide a local wireless network, which has a 1 gigabit per-second (Gb/s) capacity.
Phase 2 of the program gave funding to several private companies in March to build technology in UAV pods and ground vehicles. There will be a demonstration at the end of this phase, in which all pieces will be shown together. Phase 3 will unveil a finished, deployable system of many SRQ-7 Shadow UAVs that grant troops an efficient mobile network.
DARPA's program is similar to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg's plan to use drones, satellites and lasers to bring internet access to areas that do not have it, BBC News reported.
The program has received criticism, such as from Chris Cole, editor of Drones Wars UK, who says that the program will provide less security to the public.
"Again, we see drones being used to enable the projection of lethal military force in remote locations," Cole said.
"Regardless of whether drones are delivering weapons or wi-fi it seems that the growing use of unmanned systems simply means more war and less overall security in the future."
Drones can be useful for providing temporary wireless network connection over a big area in a short amount of time, Discovery News reported. However, the drones are not efficient enough to be used for long periods of time yet.
