Since 2011, Loon has dreamed of linking the globe through constellations of balloons floating through the stratosphere. But that dream recently came to an end when Alphabet (GOOG  ) chose to disband Loon, citing the firm's inability to develop a cost-effective and sustainable business model. But perhaps the larger question is: in this world where cellular connectivity is improving exponentially, are other projects like Loon doomed from the start?

Loon originally began as an outgrowth of Google's "moonshot factory." A series of initiatives launched by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. To the end of developing tech to connect the world through a series of hubs drifting in the upper atmosphere, Loon largely succeeded. They managed to create a tennis court-sized balloon that could project mobile internet over an area 200 times greater than an ordinary cell tower. The Alphabet division even managed to launch a pilot project in Kenya. Their technology helped restore internet access in Peru and Puerto Rico in the wake of natural disasters, according to Reuters. While Loon proved their technology worked, in theory, they still weren't able to make it cost-effective in practice.

That's because the future Loon planned for in 2013 simply never happened, and their services weren't cost-effective for the mobile companies they aimed to partner with. Demand for internet access has made the construction of new cell towers in even the remotest areas more viable than ever. What's more, for the Loon system to work, service providers would've had to buy whole fleets of balloons at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars apiece. And these balloons would've had a lifespan of only five months. These factors combined to make Loon's technology obsolete before it barely managed to get off the ground. But is the dream of a world bathed in internet that is beamed the clouds entirely dead?

Elon Musk and SpaceX would disagree. The company has been unfolding plans to connect the world via constellations of satellites as part of its Starlink service, according to Bloomberg. For months on end, the company has been launching satellite clusters on their proprietary Falcon 9 rockets. Already there are 960 of these satellites in near-earth orbit. The current fleet is large enough for SpaceX to roll out its Starlink Service in North America and the UK as soon as this year. But just like Loon, Starlink will have to prove it's worth in a world where 5G and eventually 6G will continue to expand connectivity in the world's remotest places.

Like all emergent technology companies, cloud and space-based internet providers face stiff odds. The world is better connected than ever before through the ground-based cellular networks projects like Starlink aim to supplant. Starlink will have to offer a clear benefit to most consumers, above and beyond traditional cellular providers. But whether Starlink will be able to succeed in this remains to be seen.