Arctic could soon benefit from broadband

Arctic could soon benefit from broadband

One of the most remote areas in the world could soon be benefiting from broadband coverage, with news that the Arctic looks set to see high-speed web connections in the near future.

The Norwegian Space Center has confirmed that, in its opinion, there is an ever-increasing need to implement broadband infrastructure across the Arctic region.

According to the Associated Press, the Space Center is joining forces with Telenor Satellite Broadcasting to research whether the broadband roll-out is in fact possible and whether it could become reality at some point in the future.

A new satellite system would need to be created in order to extend broadband coverage to the Arctic region, and the system would have to be funded with money from the private and the public sector. If this were to happen, the broadband service could potentially be up and running within the next 10 years, reports say. Space Center director Bo Andersen confirmed that there is an increasing need for broadband in the Arctic and added that the estimated cost of the system would range from $330 million to $650 million.

One of the firms that is very supportive of the plan is energy company Statoil, which is planning to look towards the Arctic for new oil and gas supplies in the future. A spokesperson for Statoil, Ola Anders Skauby, told the publication: "Broadband coverage is part of this picture and for operations in some regions further north than where current operations are taking place, development of new solutions for high-capacity broadband will be needed."

Mr Skauby confirmed that its future plans for the Arctic region depended on numerous issues, ranging from logistics, operation safety and weather conditions.

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