It's a plane. Actually, it's both. According to Marc Arnold, CEO of Angel Technologies, which developed the plane, HALO could be the most economical answer to the demand for superfast Net connections in densely populated urban areas. At any given time, a user can order extra speed that might be necessary for a big deadline or to process and send heavy files such as high-quality video. Customers pay based on what they use.
Some analysts are skeptical.
But systems such as Angel Technologies and SkyStation, which hopes to provide a similar service using blimps, believe they could revolutionize satellite communications. Angel's planes would fly 51,000 feet above the earth. That's above the altitude of 30,000 to 40,000 feet that commercial planes fly in, but not high enough to require special regulation. Nor would the planes be low enough to be obstructed by tall trees or buildings that often block a user's connection to a terrestrial wireless transmission tower. Not too high.