Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- There 's both poetry and promise in the humble balloon . It delivered escape and adventure in Pixar 's `` Up , '' friendship to a small boy in the classic short film `` The Red Balloon , '' and -- delving into real-world history now -- military messages for Chinese strategist Zhuge Liang back in 220 AD . Now Google plans to use a network of high-flying balloons to deliver low-cost Internet access to remote and under-served places around the world . It 's called Project Loon , the latest initiative from the tech giant 's innovation lab , Google [ x ] . Project Loon uses a fleet of super-pressure balloons made out of very thin polyethylene plastic . Measuring 15 meters across when fully inflated , each balloon carries a payload of electronics including a flight computer , altitude control system , communications antenna and a solar power station -- turning the craft into a self-powering cell tower in the sky . `` We want to keep them up there , floating around for eventually up to 100 days , '' Nigel Snoad , Google.org Crisis Response Product Manager and Google Project Loon team member said on CNN 's News Stream . `` That way we can have a ring of balloons we hope can provide Internet access to a whole range of places that are really difficult to get to with normal technology . '' The Loon balloons are strategically positioned on stratospheric winds and controlled by complex algorithms and computing power on the ground . Google said a team of six people is required to launch a Loon balloon , including a launch commander and a coordination team at Mission Control . The need for the connectivity that Project Loon promises is immense . Believe it or not , in this networked age , some five billion people are not connected to the Internet , according to Google . To put it in another way , two-thirds of humanity are being denied online connectivity and the economic promise that comes with it . Project Loon can also play a critical role during a natural disaster or humanitarian crisis . `` During a crisis , connectivity is really important because information in itself is really lifesaving , '' said Snoad . `` Anything that can ( provide connectivity ) for remote areas at a low cost much cheaper than satellites is something we 're really going to celebrate and we 're hopeful can make a real difference . '' Last month , the team conducted a successful pilot test in New Zealand , launching 30 balloons over two weeks to test basic launch procedures , Internet connection to the ground , and descent and recovery of the balloons . A group of 50 pilot testers in Christchurch and parts of Canterbury on New Zealand 's South Island were equipped with special Internet antennas to connect to the Loon balloons , including Charles Nimmo -- the first person in the world to connect to Google 's balloon-powered Internet . `` The way I became involved in the trial was by a third-party research organization , '' Nimmo told me via email . `` They phoned one night and sounded completely suspect to the point where I was about to hang up . '' Eventually Nimmo signed a nondisclosure agreement and a group of technicians arrived at his door to attach what looked like a red ball to the side of his house . `` I thought , 'Finally , some people who can tell me what is going on . ' Their reply was , 'We do n't actually know either . ' The whole process was cryptic and was making a dull week rather exciting to be honest . '' In a rural area with historically unreliable Internet access , Nimmo said he now enjoys the benefits of constant connectivity like a social media presence , an ability to better market his products online , and a stable platform for his children to complete their homework online . Nimmo is happy with his balloon-powered Net connection . And , as the world 's first person to make a connection in such a way , he also recognizes the heights Google must scale to make Project Loon a viable solution . `` It is a system that will need to reach a critical scale in order to be effective world-wide and will need some degree of cooperation between governments , '' he said . `` The scale and complexity of the idea is mind-boggling but it seems plausible , and Google is probably the only company with the resources to pull it off . '' Onward ... and upward .
Google plans to use a series of high - altitude balloons to deliver low - cost Internet . Project also will give access to remote and under served places around India . The balloons strategically rely on stratospheric winds , controlled by algorithms . Google : Google can play critical role during a natural disaster or humanitarian crisis .