Facebook is reportedly in talks over a $60m (£35.9m) deal to buy drone manufacturer Titan Aerospace, as part of its efforts to provide internet access to remote areas of the world.
Although both companies have yet to comment on the deal, Mark Zuckerberg’s company has been linked to a buyout of the solar-powered drone maker, according to Tech Crunch.
It believes Titan is looking to build 11,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to start giving internet access to parts of Africa through the solar-powered unmanned vehicles which can stay in the sky for up to five years.
There is also the belief that such a move would fit in with Facebook’s objectives as one of the primary backers of the Internet.org initiative, which was set up with the likes of Nokia and Samsung to bring affordable Internet access to the five billion people in the world still lacking connectivity.
Google, which is not a part of the internet.org effort, launched Project Loon last year, a similar undertaking with the goal of getting the world online.