Google Parent Company Alphabet and Airtel Collaborate on Project Taara

Aug 13,2023
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An anonymous spokesperson from Bharti Airtel told Economic Times that both companies have tested the new project successfully at various locations in India. According to reports, the project has been tested in some regions of Andhra Pradesh. It is also being tested in some regions of Africa.

Google parent company Alphabet and Bharti Airtel are linking up to provide high-speed internet to remote villages in India by using beams of light, a report has said. The project, known as Taara, is part of Alphabet's innovation lab called X.

What is Taara?

Taara project started in 2016 after Google's attempt to provide internet via balloons, under project Loon, ran into problems due to high costs, news agency Reuters cited company executives as saying.

Alphabet & Airtel Partnership

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the company will invest $10 billion in India. The partnership between Alphabet and Airtel is separate from Google’s India Digitisation fund. Google is investing around $1 billion in Airtel and also owns 1.2% of the total post-issue equity in the company.

Randeep Sekhon, Airtel’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), believes that this project will help not just rural areas in India but in other countries to deliver fast internet.

What is Project Taara and How Does it Work?

Project Taara is an internal project of Alphabet that uses light beams to deliver faster internet speeds. As of now, Optic fibres are being used to provide internet to the rural areas however the process has not been easy so far. This technology also depends on the geolocation of the site, which means it could be tough to implement this on terrains.

Conclusion

"I think this is really disruptive," he was quoted as saying. Google invested $700 million for a 1.28% stake in Bharti Airtel last year. Taara's partnership with Airtel is separate from the Google investment, the publication noted.