--- description: Google's multibillion dollar project is part of a Silicon Valley race to extend Internet access to underserved corners of the globe title: Google Takes to the Skies With New Satellite Venture image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfb1487b3ea4fa62/6986862be53aba16074d191d/google1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Technology & Media](/tag/technology-media/) ## Technology & Media Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Google Takes to the Skies With New Satellite Venture by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2014 11:44 AM CUT  Google's logo at the garage where the company was founded on Google's 15th anniversary in Menlo Park, Calif., on Sept. 26, 2013. Google's logo at the garage where the company was founded on Google's 15th anniversary in Menlo Park, Calif., on Sept. 26, 2013.Stephen Lam—Reuters by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2014 11:44 AM CUT Google plans to [launch a fleet of satellites](http://online.wsj.com/articles/google-invests-in-satellites-to-spread-internet-access-1401666287?mod=WSJ%5Fhp%5FLEFTWhatsNewsCollection "undefined") that will expand Internet access around the globe as part of a new project that will cost the company at least $1 billion, according to a new report. The _Wall Street Journal_, citing unnamed sources, reports the project will start with 180 small satellites orbiting the earth at lower altitudes, extending Internet access to unwired corners of the globe—and boosting its business. Google has between 10 and 20 people dedicated to the project. The project’s price tag could reach as high as $3 billion, the _Journal_ reports. Google is already building solar-powered drones and designing high-altitude balloons to provide broadband service to remote parts of the globe, and joins Facebook an in effort to reach underserved regions and ultimately boost revenue. If Google succeeds, it “could amount to a sea change in the way people will get access to the Internet, from the Third World to even some suburban areas of the U.S.,” Jeremy Rose of Comsys, a London-based satellite consulting firm, told the _Journal_. \[[_WSJ_](http://online.wsj.com/articles/google-invests-in-satellites-to-spread-internet-access-1401666287?mod=WSJ%5Fhp%5FLEFTWhatsNewsCollection "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2808329/google-satellite-internet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2808329/google-satellite-internet/"},"headline":"Google Takes to the Skies With New Satellite Venture","datePublished":"2014-06-02T11:44:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:09:23.757Z","description":"Google's multibillion-dollar project is part of a Silicon Valley race to extend Internet access to underserved corners of the globe","url":"https://time.com/2808329/google-satellite-internet/","keywords":["Technology & Media"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfb1487b3ea4fa62/6986862be53aba16074d191d/google1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfb1487b3ea4fa62/6986862be53aba16074d191d/google1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A Google logo is seen at the garage where the company was founded on Google's 15th anniversary in Menlo Park, California","caption":"Google's logo at the garage where the company was founded on Google's 15th anniversary in Menlo Park, Calif., on Sept. 26, 2013.","creditText":"Stephen Lam—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology-media/","name":"Technology & Media"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2808329/google-satellite-internet/","name":"Google Takes to the Skies With New Satellite Venture"}}]}] ```