Broadband To Hit The South Pole

Albanach writes: "According to this story from the BBC bids are being invited to lay a fibre-optic cable some 1600 kilometres over polar ice, linking researchers at the South Pole with the rest of the planet. Currently, researcher's communications rely upon older satellites that have drifted from their geostationary orbits into ones that are now at least partly visible from the pole. The new cable will be laid on top of the 4km ice cap, and will have to cope with repeated freezing and stretching as the ice moves."

Comments

If that's the criteria you use

[Raul654]

this post has merit since it is true. MOD PARENT UP!!!

1 = 1

Now mod me up, bitch.

Global warming or normal climate cycles?

[Andy Dodd]

It's a given fact that the planet goes through climate cycles (read: Ice Ages, which come and go)

Ice started receding LONG before humans started emitting greenhouse gases. Keep in mind that most of New York and a decent amount of New Jersey is... Glacial moraine???? Yup. A long, long time ago, the place where I am sitting was under ice. Probably before humans had even discovered fire.

How much of this recession is from greenhouse gases and how much is from normal climate cycles?

Greenhouse gases are definately having an effect. The question is, are they having as much effect as Greenpeace would like us to think?

Stuff the South Pole!

[Zaphy42]

Why bother with broadband at the South Pole when British Telecom can't even be arsed to enable ADSL in my local exchange because it's "not commerically viable to upgrade the exchange"? :(

what about down under?

[SystematicPsycho]

Decent broadband should hit down under, not that far away from the south pole.