Many people had this idea decades before Google. In the 60" the NASA tested the idea of "Satellite balloons" [0]. Following this experimentation, engineers in

Many people had this idea decades before Google. In the 60" the NASA tested the idea of "Satellite balloons" [0]. Following this experimentation, engineers in France planned to create (in the sixties) a national network of telecom (atmospheric, not satellite) balloons, but it turned out it was easier to build telecom towers. Myself I wrote a Web site in the late 90" explaining the technology (at that time) and economics of such networks. I think it was one of the earliest proposals where active platforms (Echo balloons were passive) and modern telecom (at that time) technology, where brought together. I cannot find it on the interweb anymore. Later in the 2000" but before Loons there were several research projects on such high altitude platforms. [1] I filled an unsuccessful proposal for such a project inside my company in 2008. [0] https://www.space.com/8973-1st-communication-satellite-giant-space-balloon-50-years.html https://www.space.com/8973-1st-communication-satellite-giant... [1] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060717103934.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060717103934.h...