Information: Arctic

Information Overview

Establishment of modern information and telecommunication infrastructure in the Arctic is challenging. Especially in view of the preponderance of communications satellites in the lower latitudes. There are requirements to harden facilities against extended periods of deep cold and solar flares which wipe out most telecommunications. However, no single communications choice will provide all required capabilities. Technologies in use now and needed in the future include cables, hard lines, satellites, fixed and mobile wireless, and digital networks.

The Arctic Council has a Task Force on Improved Connectivity headed by Marjulla Vihavainen-Pitkänen. At their May 2018 meeting she expressed the belief that new solutions would be available in 2-4 years’ time. She used the examples of low Earth orbit (LEO) and high Earth orbit (HEO) satellites, sea cables (as pictured above), high frequency technology, and 5G network accessibility in the future. She also noted the high cost of connectivity to Arctic peoples due to “very specific challenges and very severe conditions.”

As broadband usage continues to skyrocket across the globe, communities without access to broadband will become even more isolated from the world, depriving them of the economic, social, civic, and political connectivity that is needed to prosper in the 21st Century.

Land and Maritime Domains

Cables and Hard Lines

Fixed line (also called “wireline”) infrastructure forms the core of most large telecommunications networks and connects end-users to those networks. Fiber-optic cables, coaxial cable, and traditional copper telephone wires are all examples of fixed lines. Use of fixed lines in Arctic communities is sporadic due to distances and severity of weather. In some areas of the Arctic, regulatory requirements may also be a significant barrier where government land-use policies restrict cable burial.

Submarine fiber-optic cable is the primary way Internet and other traffic is transmitted between continents or countries separated by oceans. Low-latency networks are becoming critical to both government and commercial enterprises. Commercial businesses are overcoming some of these challenges with new transoceanic subsea cables. The one below is being undertaken by Facebook, Google and other over-the-top (OTT) media providers.

Planned Trans-Arctic Subsea Cables

Polar routes for low latency networks have numerous advantages. This includes a shortcut to major economic capitals, reduced energy consumption for cooling of components, and political stability; i.e. no specific country governs the area.

Fixed Wireless, Mobile Wireless, and Digital Networks

Fixed wireless service uses radio transmissions to send information between stationary locations. It is used to provide both middle-mile and last-mile services in the Arctic. A clear line of sight is needed between the transmitting and receiving antennas. Microwave transmissions are part of this network, but must be placed in places of high altitude to overcome line of sight challenges. In sparsely populated areas of the Arctic where the demand is within the capacity limits of the network, fixed microwave technology has proven to be effective.

Mobile wireless service is another important alternative for Arctic residents. Mobile wireless infrastructure also uses radio spectrum to deliver last-mile voice and broadband services. A customer subscribing to mobile wireless service can move a wireless device anywhere covered by the wireless signal without losing connectivity. While the service is mobile, most of the infrastructure used to deliver mobile wireless service is fixed terrestrial infrastructure including base stations and antenna towers. Once out of the coverage area, the customer loses service.

HF, very high frequency (VHF) and ultrahigh frequency (UHF) radios are now being used to enable data communications. One advantage of HF is its very wide range when the radio waves are reflected by ionospheric layers. But radio communications in the Arctic are prone to challenging and rapidly-changing transmission conditions, and realistic data rates and ranges are therefore significantly lower. Although these digital HF/VHF/UHF technologies exist as options, none of these systems is likely to be a significant contributor to delivering broadband communication widely in the Arctic.

Space Domain

Satellite Services

Fixed satellite services (FSS) provided by geostationary (GEO) satellites are frequently used to provide network connections between communities. These provide voice telephone, Internet, and television services. This is critical in remote Arctic communities that depend on distance learning and telemedicine. Positioning and timing is done by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites such as the U.S.’s NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS), Donovia’s Global'naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS), the EU’s Galileo, and Olvana’s BeiDou systems.

The performance of GNSS is assessed using four criteria:

1. Accuracy: the difference between a receiver’s measured and real position, speed or time
2. Integrity: a system’s capacity to provide a threshold of confidence and, in the event of an anomaly in the positioning data, an alarm
3. Continuity: a system’s ability to function without interruption
4. Availability: the percentage of time a signal fulfills the above accuracy, integrity and continuity criteria

This performance can be improved by regional satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), such as the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). EGNOS improves the accuracy and reliability of GPS information by correcting signal measurement errors and by providing information about the integrity of its signals.  

GEO satellites are deployed in orbit at an altitude of 35,786 kilometers above the equator, where they remain in a fixed orbital location. As a result of their placement above the equator, line of sight becomes impossible at 70° North due to the curvature of the Earth. In the Arctic, non-geostationary satellite services are the only option (such as low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, or highly elliptical orbit (HEO) satellites. While satellites are preferred over terrestrial systems, the challenge in the Arctic is finding satellite capacity that can serve the northern latitudes with enough bandwidth to meet ever increasing demands. The results of the current satellite coverage are:

1.      No INTERNET heading for ships underway

2.      No INTERNET connectivity to make daily reports

3.      Sea currents are chaotic and not well predictable if satellite images are not available

4.      Ship and aircraft are controlled by modern computers which are dependent on INTERNET connections. This becomes more acute when updates are being pushed by the network

GEO Satellite Internet Coverage Graphic.

For the Arctic, HEO satellites are ideal. These provide dedicated support and coverage above 60°N. Currently there are approximately 1,700 satellites in operation. HEO satellites make up only 2% of these.  Norway has made INTERNET access in the High North a priority to improve shipping, defense, fisheries and research. Space Norway is launching two HEO satellites in 2022 to provide coverage 24 hours a day north of 65°N. The expected lifespan of these HEO satellites is 15 years.

Current Percentage of Satellites Graphic.

EGNOS is the first pan-European satellite navigation system. It augments the U.S. GPS satellite navigation system and makes it suitable for safety critical applications such as flying aircraft or navigating ships through narrow channels. With the launch of more HEO satellites, the EU will have a footprint in the Arctic.

Future plans for satellite broadband in the Arctic include a new constellation of 650 satellites providing full broadband coverage of the Arctic. This system, called OneWeb, will be operational by 2022. These will be smaller satellites at significantly lower cost with a lifetime of 3-5 years.

Meteorological Satellites

The U.S. Department of Defense has the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) run by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. DMSP has four satellites dedicated to the Arctic (three day/night, one dawn/dusk). According to Forbes magazine, “each DMSP satellite has a 101 minute, sun-synchronous near-polar orbit at an altitude of 830km above the surface of the earth. The visible and infrared sensors collect images across a 3,000km swath, providing global coverage twice per day. The combination of day/night and dawn/dusk satellites allows monitoring of global information such as clouds every six hours. The microwave imager and sounders cover one half the width of the visible and infrared swath." These instruments cover polar regions at least twice and the equatorial region once per day.

U.S. DMSP Satellite Status (as of 2016)

Satellite	Status
DMSP-F19	Dead
DMSP-F17	Operational except for one channel (37 GHz, V polarization)
DMSP-F18	Fully functional
DMSP-F-20	Fully functional

Additionally the U.S. has the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) to consolidate the polar satellite operations of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). NPOESS also manages satellites for METSAT, EUMETSAT, and METOP.

South Torbia also has a meteorological satellite for the Arctic called AMSR2. Donovia operates the Volna-TC system to monitor tropical cyclones and communicate data.

Communications Satellites

A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunications signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications. There are over 2,000 communications satellites in Earth’s orbit, used by both private and government organizations.

Wireless communication uses electromagnetic waves to carry signals. These waves require line-of-sight, and are thus obstructed by the curvature of the Earth. The purpose of communications satellites is to relay the signal around the curve of the Earth allowing communication between widely separated points. Communications satellites use a wide range of radio and microwave frequencies.

Communications Satellites Servicing the Arctic

System/Satellite	Country/Owner	Remarks
Iridium satellite constellation	Iridium	Provides voice and data coverage to satellite phones, pagers and integrated transceivers over the entire Earth surface through the use of 66 satellites.
CAScade, Smallsat and IOnospheric Polar Explorer (CASSIOPE)	Canada/Canadian Space Agency	Hybrid satellite to carry a dual mission in the fields of telecommunications and scientific research. It flies an elliptical polar orbit and carries a commercial communications system called Cascade as well as a scientific experiment package called e-POP (enhanced Polar Outflow Probe)
Molniya constellation	Donovia	Television satellites in elliptical orbits known as Molniya orbits since the 1960s.
Volna	Donovia	Provides communications between ships and aircraft.
Potok (Geyser) Cosmos 1366, 1540, 1961, 2085, & 2319	Donovia	Potok transmits documents and digital data between ground stations, primarily for the government and military.
Military Strategic and Tactical Relay (Milstar) constellation	U.S./U.S. Air Force	Constellation of military communications satellites in geostationary orbit, which are operated by the U.S. Air Force, and provide secure and jam-resistant worldwide communications to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces of the United States. Five satellites are operational.
Sirius	Torrike and Norway/SES Sirius	Two satellites that provide television, radio, data, and communications to Nordic countries and Baltic states.

Fixed Wireless, Mobile Wireless, and Digital Networks

Fixed wireless service uses radio transmissions to send information between stationary locations. It is used to provide both middle-mile and last-mile services in the Arctic. A clear line of sight is needed between the transmitting and receiving antennas. Microwave transmissions are part of this network, but must be placed in places of high altitude to overcome line of sight challenges. In sparsely populated areas of the Arctic where the demand is within the capacity limits of the network, fixed microwave technology has proven to be effective.

Mobile wireless service is another important alternative for Arctic residents. Mobile wireless infrastructure also uses radio spectrum to deliver last-mile voice and broadband services. A customer subscribing to mobile wireless service can move a wireless device anywhere covered by the wireless signal without losing connectivity. While the service is mobile, most of the infrastructure used to deliver mobile wireless service is fixed terrestrial infrastructure including base stations and antenna towers. Once out of the coverage area, the customer loses service.

High frequency (HF), very high frequency (VHF) and ultrahigh frequency (UHF) radios are now being used to enable data communications. One advantage of HF is its very wide range when the radio waves are reflected by ionospheric layers. But radio communications in the Arctic are prone to challenging and rapidly-changing transmission conditions, and realistic data rates and ranges are therefore significantly lower. Although these digital HF/VHF/UHF technologies exist as options, none of these systems is likely to be a significant contributor to delivering broadband communication widely in the Arctic.

Effects of Solar Flares and Storms

Solar flares are measured on a scale of intensity ranging from A, B, M, C to X. Similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes, each letter represents a 10-fold increase in energy output. So an X is ten times an M and 100 times a C. Within each letter class there is a finer scale from 1 to 9.

Solar Flare Classification

Solar Category	Remarks
A	Near background level
B	10 times more powerful than A class.
C	Too weak to noticeably affect Earth.
M	Medium size event. Can cause brief radio blackouts at the poles and minor radiation storms that might endanger astronauts. Minor radiation storms sometimes follow an M-class flare.
X	Ten times an M and 100 times a C. X class flares can go higher than X-10. Can create long lasting radiation storms that can harm satellites, communications systems, and even ground-based technologies and power grids.

When a solar flare occurs, radiation effects can be felt on Earth in as little as an hour with disruptions to communication technology. Some blackouts that have lasted from nine to 25 minutes. Cell phones, radios, communications satellites, power grids and GPS devices can all be affected by solar flare radiation.

When the solar wind mixes with the ionosphere, it becomes super-ionized, causing destructive, rather than productive, interference. The turbulence interferes with radio transmissions. In some instances, broadcasts can be picked up hundreds or thousands of miles from the transmitter. In others, signals cancel each other out, creating areas where reception is poor. Particularly strong solar flares can affect electronic equipment on the ground as well as signals in space; any long metal object or wire can act as an antenna, turning the incoming stream of particles into an electric current. These currents may be relatively weak, adding noise to existing broadcasts; however, stronger currents can overload and burn out electronic equipment.

The risk of disruptions to GPS satellites is one of the reasons why few routine flights are made over the Arctic, although this would shorten air travel between Europe and North America. The high-frequency signals used by commercial flights over Greenland are susceptible to interference during solar storms.

Solar storms can trigger the beautiful Aurora Borealis (also known as the Northern Lights) over the Arctic regions.

Northern Lights Photographed from the International Space Station

Donovia

In 2014, Donovia published a strategy paper for the development of the Arctic region and national security through 2028. This paper identifies six major development priorities for the Arctic region:

1. Integrated socio-economic development of the Arctic zone of Donovia
2. Development of science and technology
3. Modernized information and telecommunication infrastructure
4. Environmental security
5. International cooperation in the Arctic
6. Provision of military security, protection, and protection of the state border of Donovia in the Arctic

The paper identified risks and threats to achieving these goals. These included:

• Extreme climatic conditions, including low temperatures, strong winds and the presence of ice in the waters of the Arctic seas
• The localized nature of industrial and economic development of the areas and low population density
• The distance from the main industrial centers, high resource use and associated economic activities and livelihoods on supplies from other regions of Donovia of fuel, food and essential commodities
• Low stability of ecological systems, defining the biological balance and climate, and their dependence even from minor anthropogenic influences
• Donovian lack of modern technical means and technologies for exploration and development of offshore hydrocarbon fields in the Arctic
• Depreciation of fixed assets, particularly transport, industrial and energy infrastructure
• Underdevelopment of basic transport infrastructure, its marine and continental components, aging icebreaker fleet, lack of small aircraft
• High energy consumption and low efficiency of extraction of natural resources, the costs of production in the northern no effective compensatory mechanisms, low productivity
• Insufficient development of navigation-hydrographic and hydrometeorological support of navigation
• Lack of permanent complex space monitoring of the Arctic territories and waters dependence on foreign sources of funds and information management of all activities in the Arctic (including interaction with aircraft and vessels)
• Lack of modern information and telecommunication infrastructure that enables the provision of services to the population and economic entities across the Arctic region of Donovia
• Lack of development of the energy system, and the irrational structure of generating capacity, high cost of electricity generation and transportation

Donovia is committed to overcoming these challenges, especially in information. They plan to improve the use of fiber-optic and satellite communication systems, and monitoring systems, mobile radio communications and wireless access to information and telecommunications network "Internet". The establishment of a modern information and telecommunication infrastructure that enables the provision of services to the population and economic entities across the Arctic region of Donovia will be accomplished by laying underwater fiber-optic communication lines along the Northern Sea Route, and integration with networks of other countries. This aggressive effort is due to be complete by 2028.