Question

A country wants to establish a new scientific research station at Antarctica. There is no undersea optical fibre connecting Antarctica to rest of the world. How can the planned research station connect to the Internet? Propose one wireless solution. Provide arguments to support your choice.

Answer 1

question) A country wants to establish a new scientific research station at Antarctica. There is no undersea optical fibre connecting Antarctica to rest of the world. How can the planned research station connect to the Internet? Propose one wireless solution. Provide arguments to support your choice.?

answer)

How to connect research station in Antarctica Connects To The Internet

Almost every continent on Earth is connected to the internet by a series of undersea fiber optic cables, but Antarctica is the one continent unreachable by fiber.

It’s not just about price. The Americans and Argentinians both proposed connecting the continent to the fiber grid, but such a cable would have to be able to withstand temperatures beyond -58 degrees, and contend with the constant shifting of Antarctica’s icy surface.

Because of this, research stations in Antarctica receive internet from a few different satellite systems. The Iridium Satellite Constellation is a network of 66 satellites owned by Iridium Communications that supply global coverage for low data transmissions. At $3 per email, scientists only use it in a pinch.

SINFOX COMPANY PROPOSAL

Recently, cellular networks have been introduced by companies like SigFox, allowing Antarctica to embrace the “Internet of Things.” Smart tracking devices will be able to monitor researchers’ locations, and even conduct some of their research for them.

Unlike cellular networks for phones, the company’s network specializes in low-powered devices in the emerging "Internet of Things" universe -- sensors, fire hydrants, light bulbs. Sigfox’s network sends only tiny packets of data. These are small 12-byte messages — not enough for something like streaming video or sending photos.

Another advantage Sigfox claims over traditional phone networks is that it's a lot less costly building out its network infrastructure. Sigfox's network runs on the unlicensed wireless spectrum band of 900 megahertz in the US, so the company doesn’t need to acquire licensed spectrum.

To built out Sigfox's network in a place like Antarctica, Moan estimates that there will need to be around 20 base stations installed for decent coverage in areas that need it most. There are currently three base stations installed. Each base station gets around 100-200 mile range, Moan said. Because there's so little competition for radio space on the continent, Sigfox won't have to build as many base stations as it would in densely populated cities.