Google’s project to provide Internet to remote areas in the world via a balloon in Sri Lanka has hit a legal snag that could see the project abandoned, it was reported today.

Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando told reporters there was a delay on the part of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to grant approval.

“It boils down to a legal issue,” Minister Harin Fernando said.

“The government as well as Google are lobbying the ITU, but if we fail there’s a risk Google will go to another country that is not bound by these rules’” he explained.

Google’s giant helium-filled balloons act as floating mobile base stations, beaming high-speed Internet to areas beyond the reach of ground-based telecommunication towers.