Melting Ice & Undersea Cables: How the Arctic Is Getting Fast Internet

03/10/23 • 27 min

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High-speed internet is something many of us take for granted. But the FCC says millions of Americans lack access to broadband service. That includes many people who live in the northernmost parts of Alaska, where satellite internet has long been the only option. That’s changing, though, as melting sea ice is leading a rush of companies to step in and start laying new undersea cables. WSJ Pro reporter Isabelle Bousquette visited parts of the Arctic where high-speed internet has made it easier to learn and even saved lives. She speaks with WSJ’s Danny Lewis about the huge educational, medical and research implications for people in the Arctic and beyond.

Further reading:

A Warming Arctic Emerges as a Route for Subsea Cables - WSJ

Climate Change in Arctic Is Changing How People There Live and Work - WSJ

Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft Weave a Fiber-Optic Web of Power - WSJ

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Further reading:

A Warming Arctic Emerges as a Route for Subsea Cables - WSJ

Climate Change in Arctic Is Changing How People There Live and Work - WSJ

Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft Weave a Fiber-Optic Web of Power - WSJ

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Encore: Beyond Silicon? The New Materials Charting the Future of Microchips

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Further reading:

Graphene and Beyond: The Wonder Materials That Could Replace Silicon in Future Tech

The Microchip Era Is Giving Way to the Megachip Age

Chips Act Will Create More Than One Million Jobs, Biden Says

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Further reading:

Scientists Grow Human Cells in Rat Brains to Study Autism, Schizophrenia

Engineered Mini Brain Models Show Patterns of Activity That Resemble Babies’

Startup Uses ‘Mini Brains’ and Software to Power Drug Research

Thomas Hartung’s laboratory at Johns Hopkins University

Paola Arlotta’s laboratory at Harvard University

The Brainstorm Project

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