Tethered Drones for WiFi Expanding in Rural U.S. Even Though Americans Have Paid for Safer High Speed Internet via Fiber Optics

By B.N. Frank

According to a group of telecom experts, Americans have already paid to have safer access to high-speed internet via fiber optics (see also 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

This being the case, additional WiFi-emitting infrastructure on the ground, attached to homes, and in the air via satellites or other vehicles should NOT be required (or funded) to “bridge the digital divide.”

Nevertheless, the state of Wisconsin is expanding rural broadband access through its tethered drone project.

From Government Technology:

Wisconsin Tethered Drone Project to Expand Rural Broadband

This month marks the beginning of a unique pilot program in Wisconsin where tethered drones will boost Internet connections for students living in rural areas within the Northland Pines School District.

Drones and broadband will intersect as part of a pilot program in rural Wisconsin that will bring high-speed Internet to students at home.

The program utilizes a new type of technology, produced by company Wisconsin Telelift, that can allow a drone to fly for extended periods of time. Essentially, a tethered drone will draw power from a generator on the ground. According to Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), this approach solves commercial drones’ well-known limitation of very limited battery power.

“We now have this aircraft that has 160 pounds of lifting thrust, and we can fly it for 42 days,” Wisconsin Telelift founder Scott Williams told WPR. “It’s so advanced that people still believe it can’t be done, even though we’re doing it.”

Tethered drones will be outfitted so that they can extend the reach of cellphone tower Internet connections. The hope is that students who live within a 435-square-mile area in Northland Pines School District will eventually be able to access their school network at home thanks to the novel combination of multiple technologies. The solution will be tested starting this month.

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American Academy of Pediatrics and other health experts have warned for many years that children are particularly vulnerable to exposure to harmful WiFi radiation. Fiber optics used with a hardwired Ethernet connection is safer and more reliable than WiFi (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), 4G (see 1, 2) and 5G (see 1, 2, 3).