News Brief: A week after becoming an independent business under Alphabet’s wing, the venture formerly known as Google’s Project Loon has struck its first commercial deal to provide balloon-powered 4G/LTE internet service to regions of central Kenya starting next year. “Our path to success as a company is through providing value to mobile network partners like Telkom Kenya and helping them extend their reach to places where ground-based infrastructure can’t go,” Loon’s CEO, Alastair Westgarth, said in a Medium post. Terms of the agreement with Telkom Kenya were not disclosed. The deal follows up on work that Loon did while it was part of Alphabet’s X moonshot factory, including efforts to boost internet access in Puerto Rico last year after Hurricane Maria hit.

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