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Sep 26, 2018

A melting Arctic could be key to faster global internet

Much of the physical makeup of the internet lies on the ocean floor in the form of fiber optic cables that snake between continents. They’re what allow you to send email or Facebook messages to friends around the world. But just like roads get clogged with traffic, these information highways are starting to get clogged, too. An ambitious initiative out of Finland is underway to solve the problem by laying a new route through the one body of water still largely untouched by sea cables: the Arctic Ocean. (09/26/18)

Jussi Pekka Joensuu, an adviser for Cinia, holds up a piece of internet sea cable at Cinia's offices in Helsinki. Most global internet communications travel on the 745,000 miles of sea cables buried beneath the ocean floor.
Jussi Pekka Joensuu, an adviser for Cinia, holds up a piece of internet sea cable at Cinia's offices in Helsinki. Most global internet communications travel on the 745,000 miles of sea cables buried beneath the ocean floor.
Peter Balonon-Rosen/Marketplace

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Segments From This Episode

Much of the physical makeup of the internet lies on the ocean floor in the form of fiber optic cables that snake between continents. They’re what allow you to send email or Facebook messages to friends around the world. But just like roads get clogged with traffic, these information highways are starting to get clogged, too. An ambitious initiative out of Finland is underway to solve the problem by laying a new route through the one body of water still largely untouched by sea cables: the Arctic Ocean. (09/26/18)