Altaeros, the developer of an aerial broadband provision system, has raised $7.5m from SoftBank, the investor that supplied $7m for it in 2014.

Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank has provided $7.5m of funding for Altaeros, the US-headquartered developer of an aerostat-based internet system.

Altaeros is working on a tethered aerostat called the SuperTower that it claims will be able to provide the same broadband wireless coverage as 30 mobile phone towers. It was founded at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010.

The company intends to begun using its technology to bring broadband access to rural communities in 2018. SoftBank had previously invested $7m in Altaeros in 2014, back when its technology was being developed as an alternative form of wind turbine.

– Photo courtesy of Altaeros Energies