A year after sending up its first wi-fi balloons, in New Zealand, Google has pulled off another stunt by sending up its first LTE-equipped balloons in a remote Brazilian town. On Monday, the company announced that it had deployed an LTE-equipped balloon on the outskirts of Campo Maior, in the northeastern part of the country, connecting a local school, Linoca Gayoso, to the Internet for the first time, Zdnet.com writes.

The site went on to explain that Google says that adding LTE to the balloons has several benefits. In areas where 4G LTE is being used, it is known for its higher speed mobile broadband, but in Loon it serves a different purpose, by allowing Google to provide an Internet signal directly to mobile phones and deliver services over longer distances than wi-fi.

When Google did the New Zealand lift-off, the radios operated on an unlicensed spectrum in the 2.4-GHz and 5.8-GHz bands that wi-fi uses.

Another benefit of LTE is that carriers are already using it on their networks, which, according to Google, means that, "…when Loon partners with telcos to deliver last-mile connectivity, we’ll be able to use the telecommunications companies\' existing infrastructure, which will allow us to deliver service to rural and remote users seamlessly and quickly.”

In its Brazilian LTE Loon trial, Google worked with two local operators — Vivo and Telebrás — to extend the reach of their respective 3G and backhaul networks, and concluded, "Working with both partners allowed the team to confirm that Loon could extend LTE coverage from a 3G wireless zone or from a fiber backbone.”