Facebook有望借无人机空降互联网沙漠

    据说Titan公司的收购价只有6000万美元，与Facebook刚刚给WhatsApp开出的慷慨支票相比可谓不值一提。但是，Titan的技术可以为WhatsApp提供一个重要的附加值，而且有助于解答一个颇具争议的问题：Facebook为什么在一个消息应用身上花这么多钱？如果你觉得吃下一个无人机厂商对于Facebook来说是进军硬件领域的一招怪棋，不妨考虑一下以下几点：

    • Facebook正在致力于接近它的“下一个十亿用户”。世界上还有三分之二的人尚未用上互联网。为了把这些人吸引过来，马克•扎克伯格已经在积极地出钱出力，奔走呼号。（比如Facebook就是Internet.org最大的支持者之一。这个组织致力于让全球50亿无法接入网络的人们联网，实现“人人有网上”。）有了Titan公司的技术，Facebook可以在短期内向全球的天空部署大量无线网络信号源——不管怎么说都比拉电缆的运营商要快多了。据TechCrunch报道，Facebook计划完全靠internet.org的支持，打造一支由11,000架Solara 60组成的Wi-Fi无人机大军。

    • 随着全球新增10到20亿网民，Facebook等社交媒体平台以及WhatsApp等通讯应用无疑将变得更有价值。尤其是考虑到无人机提供的信号要比光纤网络慢一些，有些占用带宽过高的程序可能光靠“无人机Wi-Fi”带不动，至少一开始不行。但是，像即时通讯、状态更新、新闻推送等不占带宽的程序（也就是Facebook提供的所有服务）非常适合这种网络以及它的十几亿新用户。

    • 这样一来，Facebook基本上成了自己的服务提供商，使它拥有了很大的控制权。它不仅仅有助于为Facebook迅速带来“下一个十亿用户”，而且还会让这家公司在与全球各大运营商就“免流量计划”进行谈判时能够更有底气。现在Facebook已经在一些发展中国家推出了“免流量”计划，它认为这种免流量计划可以促进移动网络的总体使用，从而也会间接提高移动运营商的利润，尽管有些运营商并不这么认为。如果Facebook能够绕过运营商，直接在高空提供自己的网络接入服务，则运营商们将被迫更加认真地考虑Facebook的免流量计划。

    • 从更长远的角度看，Titan对于Facebook的意义并不仅仅是一种传输网络数据的手段。Solara 60无人机的最大设计载重是250磅，Facebook很可能并不需要这样大的载重。剩下的空间可以出租给政府或研究机构，或者搭载Facebook自己的数据收集仪器，收集地图测绘、天气研究与预测、大气科学、民航追踪这类数据。借此，Facebook可以在高空持续收集大量数据，既可以自用，也可以卖给其他公司或机构。不要忘了，就算没有Facebook，Titan的技术本身也是有自己的价值定位。就算被Facebook买了下来，它本身的价值依旧不容小视。

    如果这笔交易真的发生了，Facebook可能将获得几亿甚至几十亿终身用户，他们将通过Facebook的基础架构和应用完成与互联网的第一次亲密接触。而且它将成为一个重要的信息收集和传播工具。截至发稿时，Titan公司未能及时回应这一传闻，而Facebook则拒绝就此事发表评论。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

    At a reported $60 million, the deal would cost just a fraction of what Facebook just shelled out for WhatsApp. But Titan could be an important accessory technology for WhatsApp and could help answer the much-debated question of why Facebook paid so much for a messaging app. If Facebook scooping up a drone manufacturer comes off as a strange way for a software company to move into hardware, consider:

    • Facebook is committed to connecting its "next billion," and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has both vocally and financially supported efforts to bring the two-thirds of humankind who aren't on the Internet into the fold. (Facebook is one of the largest backers of the Internet.org initiative, which aims to bring Internet access to the 5 billion people in the world that don't have ready access to the web.) With Titan's technology Facebook could put Internet hubs into the sky in huge numbers relatively quickly -- much faster than carriers will lay cable, anyhow. According to TechCrunch, Facebook plans to do exactly that via a fleet of 11,000 Solara 60 aircraft that will be built solely in support of Internet.org's mission.

    • With another 1 or 2 billion people connected to the web, social media platforms like Facebook and messaging apps like WhatsApp become decidedly more valuable. This is especially true considering that the signal provided by aircraft like Titan's would be relatively weak compared to a fiber optic connection. Bandwidth-heavy applications won't fly, at least not at first, but messaging, status updates, newsfeeds -- basically everything Facebook provides -- would be natural fits for these networks and their billion-plus new users.

    • All that basically makes Facebook its own service provider, giving Facebook a lot of control. Not only would this instantly start that "next billion" out using Facebook's platforms, and it would give Facebook further leverage against carriers across the globe when it attempts to negotiate "zero-rate" deals in which people can use Facebook without it counting against their data plans. Facebook has arranged several such deals in the developing world and argues that it increases profits for mobile carriers by encouraging overall mobile use, but some carriers disagree. If Facebook could bypass carriers and provide its own Internet-in-the-sky, carriers would be forced to consider zero-rating more seriously.

    • Taking a longer view, Titan makes Facebook much more than just a means of moving data across networks. The Solara 60 is designed to carry 250 pounds of payload, likely more than Facebook would need to beam Internet to the ground. The remaining space could be rented out by governments or research agencies, or packed with Facebook's own data collecting instruments. Mapping, weather research and forecasting, atmospheric science, civil aviation tracking -- Facebook could gather a lot of persistent, rich data from way up there, either for its own use or for sale to others. Don't forget that Titan's technology had a value proposition before Facebook arrived, and if Facebook buys the company that value isn't going anywhere.

    If the deal happens, Facebook could create hundreds of millions or even billions of lifetime users whose first regular experience with the Internet is via Facebook's infrastructure and apps. And it could become an important collector and disseminator of data -- something like its competition in Mountain View -- in the offing.

    Titan was not immediately available to comment for this story. Facebook declined to comment.