Alphabet Shuts Down Titan Drone Internet Project

(RTTNews) - Google parent Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOGL, GOOG) X research lab had shut down its Titan Drone Internet Project. This happened in early 2016.

In 2014, Google and Facebook Inc. vied to acquire Titan Aerospace, a maker of high-altitude, solar-powered drones. Google won the bidding, so Facebook purchased its own company, which was building a huge glider called Aquila. The idea was to beam internet access from the sky to get more people logging on from remote places to access information and probably use both companies' web services.

The team from Titan was brought into X in late 2015, and the research lab ended its exploration of high-altitude drones for internet access. Facebook has also struggled. Its Aquila drone crashed during a test flight in June, sparking an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.