Editing 1226: Balloon Internet

{{comic
| number    = 1226
| date      = June 17, 2013
| title     = Balloon Internet
| image     = balloon_internet.png
| titletext = I run a business selling rural internet access. My infrastructure consists of a bunch of Verizon wifi hotspots that I sign up for and then cancel at the end of the 14-day return period.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic references Google's {{w|Project Loon}}, a balloon powered Internet service which was officially announced June 14, 2013 (3 days before this comic was published) and was in proof-of-concept testing stages by that time. A test above New Zealand, involving about 30 balloons and about 50 users, was successfully conducted on June 16. The project, taglined "Internet for Everyone", was intended to eventually provide Internet access to people in rural areas and in disaster areas that have limited or no access to land-based Internet services.
As of 2019 Loon LLC was an individual Google subsidiary instead of a mere project and was present in multiple places across the world for either Internet in rural areas, full coverage of a country or disaster relief.

In March of 2021, {{w|Alphabet Inc.|Alphabet}}, Google's parent company, announced the closure of Loon, LLC.

[[Randall]] is poking fun at the tagline "Internet for Everyone" — meant to mean anyone could have Internet access regardless of location — by instead literally bringing the Internet to [[Cueball]], who sits in a deserted area, away from all technology, to read a standard paper book. In the comic, one of the balloons sneaks up on Cueball before speaking and startling Cueball, effectively becoming a nuisance, interrupting Cueball's reading of a book and leaving Cueball wondering what has happened. In Randall's world, the tagline could be restated as "Internet for Everyone — whether they want it or not".

The title text describes Randall's own plan to provide rural internet. He will operate in a region where Verizon {{w|Wi-Fi}} infrastructure already exists, and take advantage of their 14-day return policy to effectively obtain internet access for free, which he will then sell under his own brand.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits on a hill reading a book.]
:[Cueball remains engrossed in the book. A balloon with a box at the end of the string begins to descend behind him.]
:[Cueball continues reading. The balloon is getting lower.]
:[The balloon's box is now right behind Cueball's ear.]
:Balloon box: ''Internet''.
:Cueball: Augh!
:[Cueball throws the book in surprise.]
:[The balloon ascends rapidly, while the startled Cueball looks up.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Google]]