Pirate Parties International toy with idea of floating file-sharing balloon

The Pirates Parties International movement is developing plans to place a file-sharing site or a similarly pirate-y service well out of the reach of national authorities by placing them in either the sky or at sea. Home to many original ideas and science fiction enthusiasts, the PPI’s mailing lists are buzzing with ideas about how such a plan should be realised.

The main motivation for developing a plan like this seems to irritate the hell out of rights holders.

Three options are under consideration: a boat, a balloon or a satellite.

The platform, whichever option will be taken, must remain active for a long time and be remotely controlled. Therefore, a considerable power source will need to be present as well as enough equipment to receive and transmit data. All this equipment needs to be able to withstand severe conditions in harsh weather at sea or freezing cold high up in the air.

So, how does the mobile platform transmit its data so that users can consume its content? Some users suggest that it will broadcast the data and that users can make use of software like Skygrabber, a program that, with a digital tuner, captures satellite streams and saves them to a hard disk.

From a functional point of view, the effectiveness as a file-sharing platform will be limited as the broadcasting range of either a ship or a balloon is not all that big. Satellites offer a wider range, but still only offer regional coverage.

All of the plans, whether boat, balloon or satellite would require substantial investment. A boat would probably be the least expensive option and a satellite by far the most costly. How is a movement, that relies so heavily on a culture of free, going to find that amount of money? Members suggest using crowdfunding as a likely means to finance the scheme. Time will tell whether the plan will manage to take off.