Facebook Won’t Be An ISP, But Built An Internet-Shooting Drone For Carriers…

Facebook today detailed plans for its solar-powered, laser-connected, Internet-beaming Aquila drones, but confirmed it’s not going to compete with Internet Service Providers. “Our intention is not to be an operator” Facebook’s VP of engineering Jay Parikh told an assembly of reporters. “We’re not going to be ‘Facebook ISP.’”

Instead, Facebook plans to work with carriers around the world to equip them with these drones so they can sell Internet connectivity to the 10 percent of the population in remote areas out of reach of existing mobile networks. Facebook also says national governments have also expressed interest in getting Aquila drones for their countries.

Facebook has largely billed its Internet.org project as a humanitarian effort to bring people into the knowledge economy. But Parikh confirmed to me that selling or licensing the solar drones, Free Space Optics lasers, and other technologies are options. That means Facebook could earn money while fulfilling its mission to connect the whole world.

Yesterday on its earnings, Facebook reported a massive year-over-year increase in expenditures from $1.5 billion to $2.7 billion per quarter, mostly for R&D of projects like these drones. Selling or licensing them could recoup those costs.

Facebook’s VP of Engineering Jay Parikh details Aquila’s progress at its Menlo Park HQ

Facebook also announced two big connectivity milestones today:

• The first of Facebook’s Aquila drones is fully built –…