By Alicia Levine
Facebook plans to shell out $19B for WhatsApp, the instant messaging service on-pace to grow to 1 billion users in places like India, Brazil, and Mexico. Google is launching balloons up into the stratosphere via its “Project Loon” (cost undisclosed) to bring Internet connectivity to the billions of people without it. Why is $19B “a bargain” for WhatsApp? Why is Google sending balloons into space? And why might solar-powered drones for Internet connectivity be next? Facebook, Google, and other tech giants are racing to win the enormous business opportunity created by the next 5 billion people coming online, mostly with their mobile phones.
Related Reading:
Facebook Drones to Battle Google Balloons in the War of Airborne Internet
