Facebook Inc. share price up, works on lasers, drones and satellites to provide global Internet access

The Chief Executive Officer of Facebook Inc. – Mr. Mark Zuckerberg – announced that the company is working on delivering the Internet even to the most remote areas in the world via drones, satellites, and other new technologies.

Mr. Zuckerberg said in a post published on Facebook, which was cited by the Financial Times: “In our effort to connect the whole world with Internet.org, we’ve been working on ways to beam internet to people from the sky. Today we’re sharing some details of the work Facebook’s Connectivity Lab is doing to build drones, satellites and lasers to deliver the internet to everyone.”

Facebooks project is called Connectivity Lab and is worked on by a team of professionals including scientists in the field of aeronautics and communications. The companys Chief Executive Officer also explained that it is working in collaboration with different organizations, such as NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.

Several employees of the England-based Ascenta were also hired by Facebook Inc. but will stay in the U.K. Ascenta also shared the news of its cooperation with the social network: “Facebook has demonstrated a serious commitment to this effort and we are more excited than ever about the potential for our technology and our future impact in the world.”

Facebooks new project is part of the Internet.org initiative headed by the companys Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Zuckerberg is said to be focused on providing the Internet to the regions where it is not available and making investments in new technologies in that direction, including drones, lasers and satellites.

The new team formed for the Connectivity Lab project has already started working on planes and satellites. This is the second big disclosure about a major project of the company after the 2-billion-dollar Oculus deal, which was announced earlier this week.

Facebook Inc. rose by 0.97% on Thursday to settle at $60.97 per share, marking a one-year change of +133.69% and a market capitalization of $155.46 billion. According to CNN Money, the 40 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Facebook Inc. have a median target of $74.00, with a high estimate of $90.00 and a low estimate of $60.00. The median estimate represents a +21.37% increase from the last price of $60.97.