Google is bringing broadband to remote parts of New Zealand via balloon. According to The Washington Post…

Google will announce Saturday it has 30 balloons floating over New Zealand to provide free Internet access to disaster-stricken, rural or poor areas. Eventually, as the balloons move across the stratosphere, consumers in participating countries along the 40th parallel in the Southern Hemisphere could tap into the service. …

These projects also help Google extend its sprawling reach into the lives of global Internet users, amid an intensifying debate over Internet privacy. Already, the company has the leading Web search, e-mail service and Internet video site, while its Android mobile software has become the most popular in the world.

These tools have enabled Google to track a wide range of consumer behaviors, which the company sells to advertisers. In recent weeks, privacy advocates have raised concerns over how much of this data is being shared with the U.S. government.

I understand the privacy concerns, and I am an advocate of privacy. But I also understand the price of free. I am more interested in the mechanics and the opportunities for broadband in less temperate areas than New Zealand. It turns out the balloons fly twice as high as airplanes so it seems that cold and snow might not be a huge issue. Apparently the range for the balloons is 24 miles. Also I didn’t realize that the Army has been using balloons to communicate for some time now. The potential is there!