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Google's 'Project Loon' takes off with cellphone firm in Sri Lanka Google's balloon-powered high-speed Internet service known as 'Project Loon' began its first tests in Sri Lanka Monday ahead of a planned joint venture with Colombo, the country's top IT official said. One of three balloons that will be used in the trials entered Sri Lankan airspace Monday, the Information and Communication Technology Agency chief Muhunthan Canagey said. 'The first balloon entered our airspace this morning. It was launched from South America,' Canagey told AFP. 'It is currently over southern Sri Lanka.' A further 10 percent of the joint venture would be offered to existing telephone service providers on the island. It promises to extend coverage and cheaper rates for data services. Service providers will be able to access higher speeds and improve the quality of their existing service once the balloon project is up and running. The balloons, once in the stratosphere, will be twice as high as commercial airliners and barely visible to the naked eye. WHAT IS PROJECT LOON AND HOW DO THE BALLOONS WORK? Project Loon is a network of balloons travelling on the edge of space, designed to connect people to the internet in remote parts of the world. The balloons travel approximately 12 miles (20km) above the Earth's surface in the stratosphere. Winds in the stratosphere are stratified, and each layer of wind varies in speed and direction, so Project Loon uses software algorithms to determine where its balloons need to go. It then moves each one into a layer of wind blowing in the right direction. By moving with the wind, the balloons can be arranged to form one large communications network. Winds in the stratosphere are stratified, and each layer of wind varies in speed and direction, so Project Loon uses algorithms to determine where its balloons need to go. It then moves each one into a layer of wind blowing in the right direction (illustrated) The inflatable part of the balloon is called a balloon envelope made from sheets of polyethylene plastic that are 49ft (15 metres) wide and 40ft (12 metres) tall when inflated. The balloons harness power from card table-sized solar panels that dangle below them, and they can gather enough charge in four hours to power them for a day. Each balloon can provide connectivity to a ground area of around 25 miles (40km) in diameter using LTE, also referred to as 4G, technology. Project Loon is partnering with with telecommunications companies and mobile networks to share cellular spectrum. Ground stations with internet capabilities around 60 miles (100km) apart bounce signals up to the balloons. The signals can then hop forward, from one balloon to the next, along a backbone of up to five balloons. The balloons will have a lifespan of about 180 days, but can be recycled, according to Sri Lankan officials involved in the venture. Official figures show there are 3.3 million mobile Internet connections and 630,000 fixed line Internet subscribers among Sri Lanka's more than 20 million population.