Facebook is the driving force behind Internet.org, an organization with the goal of greatly expanding Internet access across the globe.
Facebook recently completed its first test of drone prototypes that will eventually be used to beam down Internet access from the sky, Mark Zuckerberg said on March 26. The test occurred in the UK with solar-powered aircraft that would be able to stay in the air "for months at a time."
The codename of the drone is Aquila, a reference to a mythological eagle. (Aquila also means "eagle" in several languages.) The drone is part of the Internet.org project designed to deliver Internet access to remote areas.
Facebook in March 2014 acquired the UK-based drone startup Ascenta, whose employees then began work on the drone-delivered Internet project.
Internet.org mobile apps providing free Internet access for a limited number of services (such as news and government services) have been released in several countries to date, including India, Colombia, Zambia, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Internet.org officially launched in August 2013 with Facebook, Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson, Opera and chipmakers Qualcomm and MediaTek as the founding companies.
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