Google’s plans to beam the Internet from giant balloons sent to the stratosphere could boost small businesses in rural parts of Asia by connecting them online, the company said today.

Karim Temsamani, Google’s head of Asia Pacific, said in a speech at the Communicasia conference in Singapore, that the Internet balloons might also facilitate communication during disasters.

Google last week revealed top secret plans to launch thousands of balloons to provide Internet connections to remote parts of the world, allowing the more-than-four-billion people with no access to get online.

Its scientists on Saturday released up to 30 helium-filled test balloons flying 20 kilometres above Christchurch in New Zealand, carrying antennae linked to ground base stations.

“What’s devastating is that only a tiny fraction of SMEs (small—medium enterprises) across Asia are online right now,” Temsamani told the conference.

He said India, one of the region’s emerging economies, has 47 million small businesses, but only one per cent are online.

“Getting more businesses online is crucial to every single country in the region,” he said.

The experimental balloon project, called Project Loon, is one way to provide affordable Internet access to “rural, remote and under-served” regions, Temsamani said.

“For farmers in remote rural areas, this would bring market information that allows them to get better prices from merchants,” he added.

The balloons, which once in the stratosphere will be twice as high as commercial airliners and barely visible to the naked eye, will also help in disasters when communication infrastructure is down, Temsamani said.

“For places with few doctors, this could help relay drug information. In disasters, this could help coordinate supplies,” he said.

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